Kyle XY Season 4
by Sir Koji
Summary: My version of what would have happened.  I used interviews from the DVD finale and from online sources from the creators themselves.  No bias for relationships or anything.  My stories; their plans.
1. Blood and Honor

1: Blood and Honor

_The rain. It washes away everything, but purely in a physical manner. It can't wash away the mental aspect. The rain can also symbolize birth and death. The rain can bring life through water, but it can also cause death in various ways; such as through the flood._

_ This rain can't wash away what I want it to. It can't bring birth, or rebirth. It only symbolizes death._

_ My own._

[Break]

"Ok, so first that guy breaks into here and trashes the house fighting Kyle – did I mention how cool that is? – then The Rack burns down! This is just great!" Josh was complaining, hanging up the phone as his parents and Lori were cleaning through the mess caused by Kyle's fight with Cassidy.

"Josh, just get to work and help us out," Stephen told him, "We have a lot to go through and clean."

"My job is gone!" Josh told him, "Doesn't that count for anything?"

"It doesn't get you out of helping us here," Nicole told him, agreeing with Stephen, "Now, help us."

"I don't see Kyle helping!" he complained.

"That's because he probably has his own things to go through right now," Nicole told her son, "Things that we aren't going to understand. There had to be a reason that this happened here, that that man was after Kyle."

"But come on! I'm jobless now! Can't I use the same excuse?" questioned Josh, hoping that it would work, but he knew that it wouldn't.

"No," Stephen said, looking outside, "The rain is picking up," he shoved a large trash bag into Josh's hand, "Go and put that up over a broken window."

"Just one?" he asked.

"Well come back and get more!" Stephen snapped at him.

"Whoa, easy, it was just a simple question," Josh said in his defense, "No need to get mad, dad."

As Josh rushed out, Nicole walked towards Stephen, "What is it?" she asked him, "What's wrong?"

"Just…all of this! Just…just that someone is after Kyle like this. I…I can't stand the fact that I can't do anything. None of us can! Only that man, Foss, and Kyle can take care of this. And maybe Jessie…"

"But we don't know where she stands in this," Nicole agreed, nodding and swallowing hard, "Yes; it is hard to know that we can't do anything for Kyle, who's pretty much a son to us now. But we have to accept that fact and just move on, and hope that Kyle can take care of things himself."

"But what if he can't, Nicole?" Stephen questioned, shaking his head, "What if we lose him?"

"We won't lose him," Nicole tried to assure him, "Kyle is strong. He knows what he's doing. He managed to defend himself here, as we can see."

Josh came back, "Ok, window is covered. Where are the other bags?"

"Oh, right…," Stephen said, looking around, "That was it," there were bags everywhere, tied up with wreckage and damaged objects inside, shattered glass, everything.

"What do you want to do? Rain is getting in," Josh told him.

"I don't know. Get blankets, just get something up," Stephen told him, continuing to sift through damage as Josh stood for a moment before walking off to look for something he could use to start covering.

The front door came open, "I'm home! Declan's here to help!" Lori called in as she and Declan soon entered into the kitchen.

"Thought you might need some help," Declan said, looking around, "Where's Josh and Kyle?"

"Josh is covering windows," Stephen told him, shaking Declan's hand, "Thanks for giving us your time to help."

"No problem. Anything to help you guys out. So, what happened exactly?"

"Kyle might be able to tell you better than any of us," Stephen said, "He's in his room right now."

Declan nodded, "Ok, so I'm going to go check in on him, then I'll be back to help you guys."

"Sounds good," Stephen told him, "Just…"

"What?"

"Kyle's been kind of quiet and shut in lately," Lori told Declan, "I imagine dad was going to tell you to just be respectful, or something like that," she cast a sideward glance at Stephen who nodded.

"Yeah, no problem," Declan said, nodding and heading off towards Kyle's room as Josh came back in.

"Declan's here? Well, I used blankets and towels to cover the rest of the windows. Hope that's good."

"Yeah," Stephen said, "Now you can help us go through everything in here. You too, Lori."

Josh snickered, "Well, bad time for you to get back, wasn't it?" he asked her, earning a hit on his arm.

[Break]

Declan knocked on Kyle's door before opening it, "Kyle? It's Declan," he said, walking in, "You ok?"

Kyle was sitting at his desk chair, looking out at the rain, seemingly lost in thought, as if he hadn't even heard Declan come in. Declan came closer, saying his name a few more times before Kyle finally turned.

"Oh, Declan," he said, getting up, "Why are you here?"

"Trager asked for help in taking care of the damage. I agreed, especially after she told me about that guy coming after you," Declan explained, "Just what happened, anyway?"

"It was…," Kyle shook his head.

"You can tell me. We're friends, aren't we?" questioned Declan.

"We are," Kyle said, "But…"

"You still can't trust me with all of your secrets," Declan said, "I thought we had moved past that! Come on, you can tell me anything! I would do anything to help you out, Kyle, you know that!"

"Cassidy said he's my brother!" Kyle blurted out.

There was a thick silence in the air between the two for a few moments, before Declan licked his lips and nodded slowly, "Ok…so he was trying to save himself? I saw the damage, and since you don't look too bad, I imagine you won…"

"No. That's not it," Kyle said, shaking his head, "I…I didn't hear any hesitation. Maybe he had the lie planned out already, just in case, but…he had no rapid heartbeat. Only from our fight, not from lying. His skin…he wasn't lying. That's the part I don't like about this. He was telling the truth, any way I could tell. He…," Kyle shook his head.

"I thought you were a clone of Adam Baylin," Declan said, "I mean come on! You look exactly like him!"

"But the egg had to come from somewhere," Kyle said, "I can only figure that Cassidy's mother, Grace Kingsly, was the egg donor to Baylin for this."

"But like I said, you're a clone…"

"An egg is still needed for life," Kyle said, "Even in this case."

"Ok. So what? You have half of her DNA, so that means Cassidy and you share only half of who you are. He's your half brother, but where was he your whole life?"

"Blood is blood," Kyle objected.

"But brotherhood is something you come to earn through years with that person," Declan explained, "Like Josh and Trager,"

"Lori?"

"Of course."

"Kind of awkward to hear you say it like that," Kyle admitted.

"Yeah, it is kind of weird, but you get my point," Declan said, "Anyway, it doesn't matter that they have the same parents, that by blood they're related. What matters is that they grew up together. That they laughed, played and fought with each other. That's what brotherhood is about. Who cares if Cassidy is your brother? He may have some of the same blood as you, but that's it! He's hardly a brother to you. That's hardly a reason to have let him get at you!"

"You're right, Declan. But still, blood is blood. And…,"

"And what? You still have who you are, you still have all of your pride, all of your honor. He's not your brother, Kyle. Not really."

Kyle looked into his eyes. For the first time Declan saw how bad Kyle's eyes looked. Almost bloodshot, as if he had been awake the entire night, perhaps crying.

"I almost killed him!" Kyle shouted, his body trembling as he said these words, "That's not me, Declan. Cassidy…he…he threatened the people I love. He threatened the Tragers, threatened Amanda…"

"So you almost killed him!" Declan said, "I would have done the same."

"I'm not that type of person!" Kyle said loudly, "If…if I had gone any farther, I fear I would be too far gone. I fear for what I would have done. All I can think of now is when Jessi first got away from Zyzzx and she killed that man. All I could think through the night was 'If I killed Cassidy, would I have become like she was then? Would I have become a killer, stained with the blood of more than just Cassidy?'"

"But you can control yourself!" Declan told him, "If you had killed him, that hardly makes you thirsty for more blood!"

"My thirst would have been for Latnok," Kyle said, "Cassidy was their emissary. That means that they probably aren't above using the people I love to get at me. Look at what happened to Amanda! They kidnapped her on Prom night to get at me! If I had killed Cassidy, what do you think they would have done? They'd certainly have come after me even more. Especially Grace Kingsly."

"Kyle, you've got to stop thinking about this. Nothing would have happened. You always get over things that happen to you. You always find a way to cope," Declan told him, attempting to comfort his friend.

"But what if it hadn't worked this time?" Kyle shouted, "This time…it would have been too much!"

"And how do you know that?" Declan shouted, starting to get much angrier with Kyle for acting this way.

"I just know!" Kyle shouted at him, turning and looking out at the rain, "If I would have killed him…I'd be in a place I could never return from. I know that for a fact, Declan. I just know…," he turned to face Declan, "A part of me died last night. Just the urge for Cassidy's blood on its own caused a part of me to die. It doesn't matter that I didn't kill him; I still died on the inside. I still lost who I am for a while."

"But you're stronger, Kyle," Declan said, "Trust me. You're the strongest person I've ever met." Declan walked awkwardly towards Kyle, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Look, if you need to talk…"

"I have you and Foss," Kyle said, nodding, "Thank you."

"I'd…I'd better go help clean up, like I said I would. Later, Kyle," Declan said, heading towards the door.

"Yeah…I'll see you later, Declan."

[Break]

"What happened to you, mate?" Cassidy questioned Nate, standing in the other man's doorway. He saw Nate on the floor, moaning. He was awake, just not getting up.

"It was Amanda and Jessi," Nate groaned, getting up, "They took my computer! And…it looks like some other stuff too," he said, pawing through the toppled papers, books, everything, not sure what they took, but sure that things were missing. He looked to the door, "And what happened to you?"

Cassidy was standing there, bloodied, his hair matted down and slick with now dried blood. He had cuts around his face, his clothes torn. He just looked miserable, absolutely miserable.

"I learned something very important last night," Cassidy said, sitting on Nate's bed, "When you threaten Kyle's loved ones, be prepared for a long fight."

"You fought Kyle? And he did that to you?" Nate almost laughed.

"Quiet!" snapped Cassidy, "Kyle may seem like a good man, someone who would never hurt another, but that's not so. He has a fuse, like any of us. A long fuse, though. It burns faster when you threaten those he loves. When that fuse ends, and he goes off, God help you. I'd be dead now if I wasn't his brother."

"You're his brother?" Nate shouted, getting up from the floor, then grasping the back of his head and moaning in pain, falling to the floor again, but sitting this time.

"Half brother, actually," he said matter-of-factly, "But it stopped Kyle from killing me," he touched his neck tenderly, "I almost didn't get it said fast enough. The electric weapon didn't stop Kyle as long as planned."

"It didn't?" Nate questioned, familiar with the weapon, "But wasn't it contracted by some security company? Isn't it supposed to work?"

"Oh, there are multiple versions," Cassidy explained, "The one we used on Kyle once knocked him out. That was what we sold. We also made weaker versions, and are hoping for a buyer. Interrogation, you see. Not enough to render unconscious, but enough to cause a hell of a lot of pain. Kyle was just stronger, so we figured. That's why I modified mine."

"Modified?" Nate questioned.

"Forget that part," Cassidy told him, "It's not important to you."

"Fine. Well then, now what?" Nate questioned him.

"I need to report things to Latnok," Cassidy informed him, "And then we make plans from there."

"Oh…Jessi is alive," Nate told him, almost as an afterthought, "She was here last night, with Amanda. They both took me out."

Cassidy nodded, "I figured she was alive. I had to figure that it was all a ploy. A ruse. But they really tried to cover it up, burning down The Rack to try to hide the 'body'. Whoever it is we're dealing with is very good."

"You don't think it was Kyle who did that?" Nate questioned.

"No. He has to have someone helping him," Cassidy said, "And I intend to find out who." He got up from the bed, looking at Nate, "When you can get up, come to the UW. I have…some things to share with you."

"What are you talking about?" Nate questioned.

Cassidy showed no emotion on his face, but simply said, "I feel…I feel it's time for you to learn everything, Nate. I feel you're a better asset if you know everything there is to know on Kyle, Jessi, and the entire situation."

[Break]

"What are you doing here?" questioned Amanda as she walked into her bedroom, seeing Jessie sitting there, working on Nate's computer, plugged into her wall.

"I wasn't going to Kyle's again, not after the damage that was done there. This was the easiest place to come to," Jessi said, not turning to look at Amanda, "Your mother let me in. She remembered me, and I said I was a friend, helping you with some college plans," she tapped the side of the computer, "She believed me."

"Fine. But this is the only place you could go?" Amanda questioned, "I hardly believe that."

"It was the closest," Jessi said.

"Closest to Nate's, or closest to Kyle?" Amanda questioned coldly.

Jessi didn't give her an answer. She was continuing to go through Nate's files and some of the stolen documents. Jessi wore her mother's ring on her finger, Amanda noticed. When Jessi looked at her, catching the glance, she turned back to her work, "I don't plan on telling you anything about it," she commented.

"That's fine," Amanda said, "I'm sure Kyle will tell me later, if I ask him. When I tell him that I want him back."

Jessi didn't say anything, but she showed that she was perhaps a bit uncomfortable after hearing that.

"I warned you, remember?" questioned Amanda, "I told you I was going to tell him that I wanted him back."

"I'm not worried," Jessi said, "He'll make the right choice."

"And what's the right choice? You?"

"You think I'm so self-centered that I refer to myself as his right choice?" she questioned, then shrugged, "Well, you're right."

"We'll let Kyle decide," Amanda told Jessi.

"Yes, we will."

There was silence for a few minutes, with only Jessi's keystrokes making sounds in the room.

"Thank you for helping me last night," Amanda told Jessi.

"You hardly needed it," she told Amanda.

"At the end, but at the beginning, I did need your help. And really, thank you for that."

"Look, it's no problem," Jessi told her, "If anything, I'm glad I could hurt one of those Latnok guys. And I know Kyle wouldn't have appreciated it if I hadn't helped you out."

"So you did it for what Kyle would think of you?"

"No. I did it for my own satisfaction of being good," Jessi admitted.

"Then I think we have some common ground to work from," Amanda said, sitting next to Jessi, "So, what have you learned so far?"

"I…I don't think you'd like to hear this," Jessi said, "I think this is for Kyle, and only him."

"You can tell me," Amanda told her.

"I could, but I really don't think you'd like what Latnok is doing. I really think you'd rather remain ignorant of this," Jessi said, though it was all old news to her, about the cloning of the babies, but this was much more detailed information than before, and not only on that, but on more of Latnok itself.

"Fine. You helped me and haven't really been lying, so I'll take your word on that," Amanda said, then quickly added, "Is it that bad?"

"For someone good like you? Yeah. It's bad. You really probably wouldn't want to know."

[Break]

Kyle finally came from his room as the work was nearing completion, with repairs being the only part left. He looked at Declan, Lori, Josh, Nicole and Stephen for a long few moments, before he finally opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't think of what to say.

"I'm sorry for not being able to help," he said first.

"You'd better be," Josh muttered, but Declan hit him in the arm, "Hey! What was that for!"

"You don't know anything," Declan told him, "Just be quiet about it."

"Anyway," Kyle said, silencing Josh's complaint with his next words, "I'm ready to do whatever I need to."

"You look terrible," Nicole told him, mostly ignoring him as she walked over, "Have you slept?"

"That doesn't matter," he replied, "I'm ready to help…"

"You need to sleep, look at yourself!" Nicole told him.

"I don't need to sleep!" he said loudly, "I need to do something! Anything! I just can't sleep!"

When they looked at him as he shouted, he quieted down, "Sorry," he said.

"Why can't you sleep?" Stephen questioned him with some concern.

"If I sleep…I see Cassidy. I see myself killing him. I…I just can't go there. I can't think about it."

"But you do need to sleep," Nicole told him.

"There has to be some way for you to sleep without thinking about that," Lori told him.

"I don't know how," Kyle told them, "I've tried a few times. I just can't sleep without thinking of Cassidy, about killing him, about everything he threatened to do."

"What did you threaten to do?" questioned Stephen.

"He threatened all of you, and Amanda," Kyle admitted to them, "He threatened everyone I love. I couldn't let that happen…so I almost killed him, I'll admit it."

Declan stepped towards Kyle, "He's trying to protect all of you, and he's haunted by what he almost had to do to do it," Declan told all of them.

"You need to get some help," Nicole told him, "We can talk about it. I can help you get through it."

"No!" Kyle shouted, shaking his head, "I don't want to drag any of you into this. What you've been told so far…it's all I want any of you to know about this situation. I don't want you to learn anything else, or you may be in even more danger than before. I…I need to get through this alone."

"How are you going to do that?" Lori asked him, "Can we help you in any way?"

"No, you can't. None of you can," Kyle told them.

"What about that Foss guy?" Josh asked him, thinking that it was pretty cool that Kyle was ready to kill for them.

"No. As much as I trust Tom Foss, I don't want to drag him into this."

"He's your protector and guardian. Don't you want his help?" Declan questioned Kyle, "He could help you."

"He could, but I don't want to drag him into my problems anymore. After Cassidy…I realized I could handle things myself. I don't want to have to drag him after me, to always help me. He…he has his own life to get back to, someday."

"Look, if you want to do this yourself, I think I can help you with that," Stephen said.

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked him.

"I have a friend who has a lakeside cabin. Around now there shouldn't be many people around. I'm sure you could go there and clear your thoughts for a while. It'll be peaceful and quiet for you."

"Thank you, Stephen," Kyle told him, nodding, "That sounds like what I'll need. It really does."

"I'll give him a call, then," Stephen said, walking towards the phone to do just that.

"We're all here for you Kyle," Nicole told him, "Know that."

"I know that," Kyle assured her, "I always know that. That's why I fought for all of you. Because you're my family, and as family, you'll always be here for me."

"I'll be here for you too, Kyle," Declan said, nodding to him, "I may not be family, but we're close enough."

Kyle smiled a bit, "Yeah. We are."

"Brothers in arms, so to speak," Declan told him, "Or not. Whatever, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know."

Stephen walked back into the room, "It's all set. Cabin's yours for at least a week, if not more. That should be enough time, right?"

"I certainly hope it will be," Kyle replied. In a moment, there was a knock on the door. Kyle, seeing that he wasn't needed in the kitchen, and that most of the other damage was dealt with, headed over to open the front door, opening it to find Tom Foss standing there, drenched from the rainfall.

"Can I come in?" he questioned, "I hate being drenched."

"Why not bring an umbrella?" Kyle questioned him, opening the door wider for Foss to walk in.

"It wasn't as bad when I started," Foss told him, looking to Stephen and Nicole as they stepped into the hall to see who was at the door.

"I'll get you a towel," Nicole said, heading off to do just that. Stephen walked towards them, taking Foss's wet coat.

"Thank you," Foss said to the both of them, then he looked to Kyle, "I came because we have some things to discuss."

"Then let's discuss them," Kyle said.

"Let's go to your room, for privacy," Foss said.

"No," Kyle told him, "We're going to talk in the kitchen, with everyone, if we're going to talk."

"You want to expose everyone to this?" Foss questioned.

Kyle had said that he didn't want to expose the Tragers to more than he had to, but felt that whatever Foss had to say, it wasn't information that the Tragers couldn't know. It was likely updates on things they did know, so it was relevant to them. So he decided to let it pass.

After a few minutes, after Foss had dried himself up, they all sat at the dining room table as Foss spoke to them all.

"The plan at The Rack? I think it all worked out, that was until Jessi left without telling me anything," Foss told them, "Have any of you seen her?"

"No, not since the plan," Kyle told him.

"Well, hopefully she stays low. I…I razed The Rack to cover our tracks," Foss explained.

"You burned it down? Why the hell would you do that?" Josh shouted at him.

"Did you want there to be evidence left for Latnok, or whoever came to look into it?" Foss questioned, "This was easier."

"It was also illegal!" Josh shouted.

"Illegality doesn't really matter at this point," Foss said, "Right and wrong matter. Illegal and legal don't matter much anymore. Not against Latnok. Look around you! Look at the damage caused by them!"

"It was Cassidy," Kyle told him, "I fought him here. That's what happened."

"You still see the damage they can cause to everything," Foss said, "I did what I had to do. We have to change our way of doing things right now. We can't keep going with the same idealistic ways as before. We haven't had to do anything this big in the past, and I'm hoping we won't have to again. But right now, what's done is done."

"What about my job? What about everything that you ruined?" Josh shouted at Foss, "I used to think that you were pretty cool. Now…you're like a terrorist!"

"I did what I had to do!" Foss shouted, "I know neither Kyle nor I want you involved, so we're doing our best to keep it that way. I had to take care of things the only way I could, to even attempt to keep you all out of this! Do you get that?"

"I understand," Declan said, even though Foss wasn't talking to him, "Tragers, he did what was right at the moment. In the grand scheme of things, is what he did that bad? Look at everything that Latnok has no doubt done! Is willing to do! Cassidy threatened all of your lives, Amanda's life! They've already kidnapped her once! They're willing to do pretty much anything! You may not agree with his methods, and I don't completely agree either, but if Latnok is going to be targeting lives, playing god, then I feel that he did what's right. You should all see it that way too! I mean, he's helped for so long, and so far everything's worked out right, hasn't it?"

"As much as we appreciate everything you've done for us, I feel I have to ask you to leave us to our own problems," Stephen told Tom Foss.

"These problems are your problems now," Foss reminded him.

"Our main problem right now is Kyle and Cassidy," Stephen corrected, "We can trust you to deal with the rest. We know that. So please, if you would."

"I understand," Tom Foss said, getting up from his place at the table, "I'll be around, if you wizen up and take my help when I bring it to you."

"We'll remember that," Stephen said as Foss walked towards the door. Declan got up from his chair and walked after Foss, following him outside.

"What is it you need, Declan?" Foss questioned before he stepped out into the pouring rain.

"I…I want your help," he replied.

Foss smiled smugly, nodding, "Ok. I have somewhere to be, but give me a call soon, and we'll discuss things. Monday is open for me, if you need to see me."

"Three days? Ok, got it." Declan said, "Where will I find you?"

"Call me," he replied, "I'll tell you where." He pulled out a pad of paper, writing his number down, tearing it off, and handing it to Declan. He nodded to Declan and walked out into the rain. When Declan went back inside, the Tragers were going about their business, with Stephen and Kyle heading to the garage.

"Kyle?" Declan asked.

"I'll see you in a few days," Kyle assured Declan, "And I hope by then, I'll be able to cope with everything."

[Break]

_Solitude is a word that usually is associated with bringing peace to oneself through peace and time alone, able to think alone, act on one's own. For me, at this moment, solitude is alone, here, at this furnished lakefront cabin, alone under the gray sky, with the cold breeze all around me as I walk away from it._

_ Solitude here was meant to be a time to sit and reflect. To gain insight into what almost drove me to kill Cassidy. How am I supposed to deal with a man who is my half brother, yet who threatens all of those whom I love? Do I respond with violence, like last time? Or, do I have to respond another way?_

_ Perhaps Declan was right. He's not my real brother, because we've never been together as anything other than enemies. If we had grown up together, we would be brothers. If we were friends and had done things together, even now, we might be brothers, as Declan and I are, as he put it, 'brothers in arms'. But now, it's too late._

_ Cassidy is a man who isn't above murder. I know that, and Jessi knows that. If I would give him even a small bit of trust, of a chance of becoming a true brother to me, he would run with it, take my trust, and shatter it even more by doing something terrible. I cannot allow anything to happen. I cannot allow myself to let Cassidy become anything more than an enemy._

_ But that leads me back down the road to killing him. The road that, when I think about it, makes me want to kill him. Even thinking about it kills me on the inside. I can't let that happen. I can't think about it, I can't work on the problem. If I work on the problem, I think about it. Thinking about it makes me want to kill him, leading to me dying on the inside._

_ Solitude isn't a good thing when it's all you have. It's all I have right now to reflect on, and it's leading me back down the same road as before._

[Break]_  
><em>

Kyle walked down the twisting road that ran around the lake. He looked at the homes, mostly shut up right now, as nobody was at any of them. He was probably alone on this lake, in the cold overcast sky that had opened with rain hours ago, just like in Seattle. The ground was damp, the grass wet, the trees on his left were dark on the trunks from the pelting rain, while drops fell from their leaves and needles. On his right were the homes. Rain dripped off of their eaves, off of anything.

He walked down a hill that led to a boat landing, and then up the other end of it, looking back down, looking at the cold silence. He kept walking, taking a turn, looking at a larger cabin that seemed to be out of place in this place of smaller lodgings.

It hardly looked like a cabin. But then again, these weren't cabins, but rather furnished houses that people probably came to on weekends on the lake. But yet this large house stood out. Two stories, with a satellite dish on it, tall, with what looked like a fountain on the other side, facing the lake. Why would someone need this? It stuck out so much; it was almost hard to look at.

Then Kyle thought he understood things. He still hadn't slept; his eyes were probably still bloodshot. He figured he looked terrible. But he realized it at last! He hadn't said much to anyone, but had listened to everyone, rather. He had learned everything he had to to settle the thoughts that plagued and tormented him.

As he walked back towards the cabin that Stephen's friend had let him use, he started to think.

_To Cassidy, I must be the odd one out. He thought that as a man who had no childhood, no family, that I would be the unloved, odd man out. He had everything growing up, a family, friends, a life. An actual life. Yet, when it comes down to it, he's acting on his own, following only cold directions from his mother and those she works with._

_ He has no love in his life. Yet I have so much. He must have thought that I would have none, or that upon meeting me, he could take satisfaction in knowing he still had more love than me. But meeting the Tragers, knowing of and meeting Amanda, that has to have changed things. He must have realized that I have true and unconditional love, despite this being the first time in my life. I didn't need a childhood to find it._

_ He must have some sort of hatred of me. He wants me to change into something I'm not, and he believes that by destroying my connections with my loved ones – killing them, or another way – he can change me. He can make me like him. The man he wants me to be, for the sake of the Latnok that the people ordering him want. That his mother wants. That…that my birth mother wants._

Kyle believed that he had figured it out. That he knew everything. But that still didn't solve the problem of his wanting to kill Cassidy. But the more he thought about it, he realized that he had solved it.

Cassidy wanted to kill his loved ones because he probably didn't feel that sort of love anymore, and wanted to twist Kyle. Kyle was doing what he knew was necessary. He was protecting his loved ones. By killing Cassidy, he wouldn't have become like him. He wouldn't have become what Latnok wanted him to be.

Latnok wanted his loved ones dead, no doubt. Their survival by Kyle killing Cassidy would only help Kyle, and hurt Latnok. He wasn't playing into their hands with his thoughts of murdering Cassidy. He was only helping himself. But that's not to say he wanted the thoughts, as they still killed him a little on the inside.

But he was able to work his mind in other ways. He felt that he could keep it locked up, and never let it out again. Not until he would need it, if that day would ever come.

Kyle felt content with his successes, made in only a few hours. When he got back, he used his cellphone to call Stephen.

"I've figured it all out. Could you come and get me?" he asked, "I'm completely better now. Trust me. I'm ready to come back."

[Break]

["I Saw" by Matt Nathanson; ends at the next set of brackets: .com/watch?v=1_f1-dicuRE ]

Kyle looked up from his desk when someone walked into his room, closing the door behind them. It was Amanda, almost like a guardian angel to help bring him the rest of the way back to reality, to who he really was. If he hadn't already figured it out for himself, then he was absolutely certain that she would be able to bring him the rest of the way out.

"Amanda…," he said.

"Kyle…I…I realized something, the other night. When I helped Jessi to get Nate's computer and some other data," she started.

"Nate's things?" he questioned.

She nodded, "Jessi is in my room, going through information. She thinks there's some things you might want to see on there."

"But you didn't come here to tell me about that now, did you?" he asked, hoping against hope that that wasn't it. She had helped Jessi, a woman she seemed to despise. Why? Why would she let Jessi work in her home like that? Or was here the only place she could come to get away from Jessi? And she allowed Jessi to remain in her home to work, instead of bugging Kyle.

Amanda must have known what Kyle was going through. Lori probably told her. Was that it? Was Amanda just here to try to help him? Or, was it something more than that? Was she here to help bring him out of the darkness in the depths of his mind, or was she here for another reason entirely? Was she his light and salvation? Or was she a friend.

"I want you back," she said bluntly, walking closer to him, "I've thought about it. The other night, with Jessi, when we stole from Nate's apartment, when we worked together, and I realized the type of man that Nate really was, and the good that we're trying to do on your behalf…I realized how badly I want to be with you! Please, Kyle. Can we try again?"

"You know I want to," he said, almost at a loss for words, his heart beating faster and harder, his chest tightening as this unfolded, as those words left her mouth, as they left his. No matter what, he hadn't thought that this was her reason for being here. He realized that she truly was the light to drag him out of the darkness of his mind. As long as she was here, his mind wasn't going back to Cassidy. It was fixated on her, and on her alone. "It's not up to me, though. You broke things off with me. It's your choice."

"I want to try again," she said, coming closer, until they were within arm's reach away from each other, "Kyle, let's try again. Forget about what happened before. Forget about Jessi, and please, just think about me."

"I can't stop thinking about Jessi," he said, seeing her disappointment, "But I don't think about her in that way. I only think about you like that."

Her eyes lit up when he said that. He put his arms around her, drawing her up to his chest. He felt her arms wrap around his back in an embrace as well. She looked up at him as he looked down into her beautiful eyes, and then they kissed.

_Everything happens for a reason. Cassidy has his reasons for attempting to do what he did. His reasons, to me, were wrong. But to him, they may have been all he could have done, and so to him, they were right._

_ Jessi and Amanda came together to help me. They banded together for a common cause, and put their personal feelings aside. But now that it's over, Amanda returned to me. Her light blocks the darkness within the depths of my own mind. I can only wonder if she could have this effect on Jessi as well, and make Jessi someone more like me, if she would want that. But Jessi is Jessi; as she is now, she's perfect in her own ways._

_ Perhaps the reason that Amanda returned to me is that she has an innate sense of help. Perhaps she has an innate sense of being able to pull people back from their own personal brinks, their own flashpoints. Perhaps that's the reason she came back to me. I hope that that isn't the only reason, and that she came back on her own, willingly, but regardless, I'm happy, and I'm free of the darkness plaguing me._

[End]

[Break]

Nate looked around Cassidy's office, "Hey? Where are you?"

"I'm here," Cassidy said, coming in behind him, papers in hand, barely looking up. He looked to Nate, "You still look terrible," he said.

"You said to come as soon as I was ready to. Unfortunately, that didn't mean I could clean myself or anything," Nate told him, "I see you've had time to clean up."

"I like looking my best," Cassidy said, sitting down at his desk, "Now, the reason I called you here."

"You said something about telling me everything," Nate said.

"Yes. Everything about what Latnok really is, and about who Kyle and Jessi really are, and why we must have them. The true mission of Latnok, as decreed by my mother."

"Your mother?" Nate questioned.

"You'll be meeting her later," Cassidy said, "Now, get cleaned up. You'll be meeting all of Latnok's highest members in short order. Then you'll be one of us, and you'll help us finish everything that we have set out to accomplish."


	2. Memories are Forever

2: Memories Are Forever

_Everything in life, at some point or another, becomes a memory; a grouping within the mind of all retained and learned information of events of the past, able to be retrieved at any moment for use. Some knowledge within the memory is harder to get at than others, as it is buried deep below other thoughts. Sometimes you block things out, hiding it within the darkest depths of memories. My old desire to kill Cassidy, and the dreams of it, are locked away within my mind, sealed by my thoughts and memories of Amanda._

Kyle looked at a picture on his desk, drawn in his signature style of rapid dotting on the page with different colors. This was a picture of Amanda, one that he had completed three days ago on Friday, after she had come to see him after he got back from clearing his head. It was of her as she was when she first came into his room that day; the light that helped to control the dark impulses.

_My memories of Amanda have always been treasured and deeply cared for within my own mind, never to be lost, if I can help it. Amanda's coming to me the other day was an important memory that will always be carried with me. It will be the memory of the sealing away of Cassidy. If I can help it, I will never have to think about killing him again, except in recollection such as this. Simple recollection is blocked by Amanda's light as I think about her. Any time I would think about killing him, I'm certain, if I looked at Amanda or her picture, I would be fine._

_ But now I wonder something more. I wonder what Adam Baylin could have taught me had he lived on. Could he have taught me how to control my memory more perfectly? Perhaps teaching me how to keep certain memories blocked off forever? But then I could never learn from my mistakes of my dreams, if I did that. Memory is truly a tricky matter, as no matter how bad memories can be, they can always be of help and guidance at some point in life. But one thing is certain, the hardest, most emotionally powerful memories are the ones that never leave us._

[Break]_  
><em>

"You're late," Tom Foss said, putting something down on a table as he looked up, watching Declan walk through the empty facility that he used for Kyle's training. It was gray outside, but it wasn't supposed to rain, which was rather fortunate.

"I got here as soon as I could," Declan replied, about to say something else, before Tom cut him off.

"You're the one who wanted this meeting," Foss told him, "Don't waste my time, or I won't help you out."

"Ok, I'll do my best from this point on not to disappoint you," Declan told him.

"You really want this, don't you?" Foss questioned him, "Considering you're willing to act so submissive. I know you, Declan. This isn't like you."

"Well, I want to do whatever I can for Kyle. Right now I don't know where I fit in in his life! I mean, am I his friend? His brother in arms? Am I actually doing anything to help him as we are right now? But then…then I think of you, look at you. You seemed like such a bad guy, but then you turned out to be Kyle protector! I mean…we know where you fit in with his life. We know where you and Kyle stand. I want to know where Kyle and I stand. I want your help."

"To be his protector?" questioned Foss, "You want to work alongside me?"

Declan ignored him and walked towards him, reaching for the overturned object. Foss gripped his wrist and moved quickly, drawing his arm up behind Declan's back, twisting his arm, causing Declan to fall to his knees and shout out in pain.

"The hell are you doing?" Declan managed to shout, which prompted Foss to release him and take a quick step back.

"Don't touch that," Foss said, "First rule, if you're serious about this, is not to touch my things, unless I tell you."

"What is it? Looks like a picture frame," Declan said, rubbing his arm, muttering in pain as he swung his arm, trying to loosen it, make it hurt less.

"Like I said, you can't touch my things. There's a reason for that. I don't want you to know what it is. So, do the math. Why would I tell you what it is?" Foss demanded of him.

"Fine, fine," Declan said, "No need to twist my arm to get me to listen."

"If you want to become one of Kyle's protectors, then you need to understand pain," Foss told him, "Otherwise what good are you going to be to him?"

"Good point," Declan muttered, "So then, what are we going to do first to get me ready for this? I want all of the training you can give me."

"All of it? Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? It's incredibly hard work," Foss said, "And I'll probably make it harder on you, especially if you annoy me in any way. Even if we've worked together before, I won't take things easy on you."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Declan said, "Let's do this. I want to have a proper place in Kyle's life, like you. I want to be able to help him, especially after he was attacked."

"Very well, then," Foss told him, "Let's get to work."

He cast one last sideward glance at the overturned picture frame, then walked off, directing Declan to follow him.

[Break]

"What's wrong, Josh?" Stephen asked, sitting next to Josh on the couch. Josh was playing G-Force, looking intently at the screen, but Stephen could see something wrong on Josh's face.

Josh didn't answer him. He just kept playing.

"Josh!" Stephen said sharply, but no response. He couldn't even tell if Josh had heard him. He got up, walked over to the wall, and pulled out the plug.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?" Josh shouted.

"Language," Stephen told him.

"Well why did you just go and unplug my game like that? How would you like it if I walked in on you while you were…I don't know… How would you like it if I walked in on you while you were working and just started unplugging your stuff?"

"I wouldn't," Stephen said.

"Then why…?"

"Because you weren't listening to me," Stephen said, looking at Josh's face. The outrage at what he did was mixed with the pain that he had seen on his son's face moments earlier, prompting him to ask, "Now, tell me, what's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong! You just unplugged…"

"No! I mean, what else is wrong?" Stephen asked, "You looked…upset, even while you were playing."

"Oh, so you come in and unplug my game just to ask me that? Wow, great job, dad," Josh told him.

"I will not take that attitude!" Stephen told him sharply, "Now, I may not be a psychologist like your mother, but I can still tell when things are wrong."

Josh finally let go of his controller, sighed, and looked at the floor. Stephen sat down next to him, "Now, what is it?"

"I miss Andy," he said, then directed vaguely at the blank television screen, "We were supposed to hook up online and play today, but…"

"She wasn't on?" he asked.

"Yeah. And I haven't been able to get in touch with her since the other day, when Declan helped me to talk to her in her car. She even gave me what her home phone was going to be, but there's no answer. I'm…"

"Worried?"

"No. I'm…kind of concerned that she's moved on. Maybe she's already met somebody and…"

"Josh," Stephen said reassuringly, hating to bring this up, but decided best against it, ignoring the thought for the moment and changing his words, "You two have a very special bond and connection. She likes you a lot. There's no way she could have found someone else. You're both crazy about each other, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Josh said, "Yeah, you're right. There's no way she could have found someone else, not after a few days, not after all we've shared. I mean I was her first…"

"That's enough," Stephen said, knowing the information, but he just didn't want to hear his son say it. That was the information he thought he might say, but decided against. At least his son had picked up on that. That may have been one of the big reasons she wouldn't have moved on, and he was happy that Josh had realized that.

He just didn't want to have to hear it said, and didn't want to have to think about it. But unfortunately, it was going to be forever ingrained in his memory, after he had first found out about it.

Stephen stood up from the couch, "Try calling her again. I'm sure that they have a lot of things to do, having just moved in. That's probably why you haven't reached her yet, or seen her on your game. Just…just give it a few days, Josh."

"I don't want to," Josh said, but actually didn't sound selfish when he said it.

"I know you don't. You really care about Andy, but don't worry. Things will work out soon. Trust me."

"Thanks," Josh said, standing up to go and plug his game back in.

"You have chores," Stephen said, "That's the reason I came in in the first place. Those first, then you can try to call Andy and play your game again."

"Come on! Can't you see I'm in pain here?" Josh said, trying to get out of it.

Stephen smiled, "Just do it," he picked up the newspaper from a chair, tossing it to Josh, "Then, when you're done, you can find a new job, if you want."

"I was just starting to enjoy being jobless, too!" Josh moaned.

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," Stephen told him, walking out of the room.

[Break]

When Kyle was walking back into his room, he saw Jessi was there, sitting in his tub, just like when he first saw her in his room.

"Where have you been?" he questioned her, "I heard from Amanda that you spent time at her house, but that was only for one day. What about the other two?"

She gave a sharp smile, "I've been…around."

"You went back to Sarah's, didn't you?" he questioned her.

"Where else was I supposed to go? Come back here? To Brian Taylor's?" a smile came to her face again, "Maybe I should go there. He is a Latnok member, after all. I could settle some things…"

"Jessi, no," Kyle warned sternly.

"I was joking," she said flatly, "Anyway, yeah. I went to Sarah's and started going over all of the things we stole from Nate. I also started to print everything relevant on his computer, and backed it up elsewhere. I wiped it after that. No one can get it back now."

"What did you get off of his computer?" Kyle asked her.

She held out a stack of papers to him, "Take a look for yourself."

He took the sheets, glancing over, reading each one in about a second or two. He was finished in about two minutes, looking up at Jessi, "This information is about the cloned babies."

"It's not how to clone them, though," she said, "But…it's still a wealth of information."

"Disturbing information," Kyle said, "All about how they're planning on using the clones. Selling them, making them tools…"

He wondered about Jessi's words. She had said it was a wealth of information, while he had called it disturbing. It was disturbing. Granted, the actual cloning processes would be more so, most likely to even Jessi, but all of that information was locked in his mind, trapped deep within his memory where even he wouldn't go to retrieve it. When he had gotten everything from Zyzzx, he had gotten those formulas as well. He was the only source of it anymore.

"Latnok is only about money anymore. This makes it even more obvious," Kyle told her, "We have to stop them."

"We can't stop them if they have no plan," Jessi said reasonably, "This sale information is moot now."

"Jessi, did the computer have any more information on this stuff? Like who was going to buy the clones?"

"No," she replied, "Why?"

"Then we could try to stop them ahead of time," Kyle said, "We know Latnok is only about money now. They were playing god with this experiment, but they have other ventures. I wouldn't be surprised if someone buying a clone would buy other advancements from them. And if we knew where to start, we could get some sort of lead on Latnok."

"A lead on them? For what?" she questioned.

"We need to stop them, we know that. How can we stop them if we don't know where they are?"

"So, you want to go in and have me take care of them, or something?" she questioned, "Me and Foss? Or what's the plan? Firebomb the place?"

"No," Kyle said, "I'm hoping that when the time comes, we can use reason."

"Reason?" she demanded, "With Latnok? I doubt that."

"I'm not going to condone killing them, or violence," he told her.

As much as Jessi wanted to argue, she also wanted Kyle, and knew that he and Amanda probably weren't fully back together yet. They might still have some problems in their ways, so she still had a chance to get at him. She swallowed her pride and nodded, "Ok, fine."

But Kyle saw through it. He knew that Jessi was only saying that for his sake, and didn't want to take that approach. Regardless, he let her go without saying anything.

"You made the wrong choice, Kyle," said a voice behind him. A hauntingly familiar voice, "You should have let her do as she wanted, if you could find Latnok. I'll be the first to admit that most of them are beyond redemption."

He turned around, looking at the man standing beside the door. It was Adam Baylin.

[Break]

"Make the jump!" Tom Foss shouted to Declan.

Declan was using the rock climbing wall that Kyle had used in the past for the sake of attempting to train his powers and make what could be physically impossible jumps. Foss wanted Declan to make jumps in order to get physically stronger, to improve his muscles, his muscle contractions, his coordination, and his cardio. He was hooked up to a belay system, but still Declan didn't feel very safe doing this, especially with only Tom Foss holding him.

"Go!" Foss shouted to him.

Declan took a deep breath, made one more glance, and jumped up and to his right. The rock he was going for was a secluded rock jutting out as a singular handhold, with another handhold about two feet above it. He was to pull himself up and hold on with both after reaching the first. Only with both handholds could he walk his feet up, find some sort of footing, and continue up to finish it.

He had to jump about seven feet to the right and two up. If he shot his arm up fast enough, he would be able to just grab the rock. That's no doubt what he had to do. He wasn't sure how he could travel that far to his right and up at the same time without losing height and actually falling. So, as he jumped, having gone as high as possible during it – as there was nothing above him, so he couldn't climb higher first – he shot his arm out. The seven foot to the right jump had made him lose height, but he got his grip on the rock and hung there for a few moments, straining. Foss was shouting at him to move up and on, to finish, without any word of congratulations for making the first part.

Declan gritted his teeth and pulled up on his arm, shooting his left arm up, pulling up as high as his right would take him. When his fingers brushed the rock, he pulled himself as much higher as he could, but was already losing a lot of strength. He gripped the rock and pulled up with both arms now, his feet trying to find a spot to hold himself. He planted them on the wall, walking them up as he shot his right arm up to another rock, using the now empty rock as a spot for one foot. He began to climb straight up, the top within reach.

When he made it up and pulled himself on top, Foss shouted, "Now, hit the bull's-eye!"

"Bull's-eye?" he muttered in confusion, panting. He glanced down to see a handgun sitting there, and a target on the far wall. The wall wasn't too far away, but for someone not good with guns, this was going to be a problem, even at a distance of perhaps twenty five yards. He took up the gun, closed an eye, and did his best to aim.

"You're dead! You took too long!" Foss shouted, "Come down, reset, we'll try again!"

Declan lowered it, "What are you talking about?"

"You took too long! You were shot. Killed. Now come down and we're resetting! We're doing this until you get it right!"

"And how much is there to get right?" Declan demanded.

"When you climb and make the bull's-eyes within the time limit that starts after you get the gun, then we're done with this part." Foss told him, "Now get down here and we'll start again!"

"You're not married, are you?" Declan stated, "I can tell because I cant think of any type of woman who would put up with this! This is the fifth time doing this! I don't have the energy left!"

This was the fifth time, but only the first he had actually made the jump, so it was only the first time he knew he had to shoot as well. Even if he made it again, could he make the shots and clear this training? Or would he have to keep going until he had absolutely no energy left?

"We're done," Foss said with a deep edge of bitterness in his voice. He undid his belay ropes, "Get down yourself! I'm done!"

"What? What the hell's your problem?" Declan shouted after him, but Foss wasn't replying. Then Declan cursed. How was he going to get down without someone to belay him down?

[Break]

"Adam!" Kyle exclaimed, then recalled the last time this had happened. He had been asleep and had seen Adam as a figment of his own mind. His mind had taken on Adam Baylin's form for the sake of helping Kyle sort through problems in his mind from another point of view, the view that Kyle believed that Baylin would have on the subject.

"You know I'm not," Adam told him, "But I mean what I said. Jessi should have been allowed to do as she wishes to."

"But that means the deaths of so many people! The entirety of Latnok she would want to hunt down!" Kyle exclaimed.

"Kyle?" he heard Nicole's voice.

Kyle realized that, unlike last time, he was awake. He wasn't sleeping, or in a sleep-like state this time. He shouted, "I'm ok! I'm…I'm just talking to myself!"

"Nice," Adam told him.

"Why should she be allowed to kill so many people when we can reach the same conclusion without the deaths?" Kyle questioned of Adam.

"Because Latnok won't stop until they get what they want. You know that. And how can you stop people who are that dedicated to the cause? You can only kill them."

"But deciding to kill someone is essentially an act of playing god. Latnok is playing god with their clone attempts. Why should one action of playing god be replaced with a second? Surely one is enough, and stopping the first through other means is enough!"

"Sure. It could be. But how can you stop others from trying again in the future? It's best to make an example out of Latnok. Out of a society borne of Einstein. If his passed down ideals were shown in such a harsh light that led to murder, would another really make an attempt at playing god like that?"

"But it's not right! If we can stop them another way, the same result is made! Or maybe Latnok could be reformed!"

"By who? You?" Adam questioned, nodding, "If you really want to see it reformed, only you can do it, Kyle. It's your family business, after all."

"I don't want to reform Latnok. Not by my own hands. I don't want to get involved with them in any capacity," Kyle told him, "You know that."

"I do know that," Adam replied, "But it's not on my mind. After all, I'm expressing completely different points of views that you have locked in your own mind that you're unwilling to compromise with. The parts you are willing to think about, to act upon, aren't very relevant to me. They aren't in my mind. If you can call it that."

"I'll remember that," Kyle told him, "So, tell me. Do you think I should have killed Cassidy?" As soon as the words left his mouth, thoughts of Amanda came up, in an attempt to keep the darkness of those thoughts at bay.

"Yes."

A simple one word answer. That's all this figure of Adam Baylin had to give Kyle. No explanation, just a simple answer.

"Why?"

"Why not?" questioned Adam back.

"You're my mind. Give me a reason I should have killed Cassidy," Kyle said, "I want to know why I should have!"

Adam Baylin's image smiled, "Like you said, I'm your mind. I don't have an answer, because you don't either, outside of the obvious."

"What do you consider to be 'the obvious'?" questioned Kyle.

"That you want to protect your loved ones. That's the only justification that you have in your entire mind," Baylin shrugged, "But I guess that that's enough, isn't it, Kyle? All that matters is protecting those close to you."

"As you tried to help and protect Sarah," Kyle said.

"As Adam Baylin tried," the image of Adam corrected, "But yes."

"But would the people I love still accept me if I had become a murderer?" questioned Kyle.

"Did you accept Jessi, even after learning she was a murderer?" questioned Baylin back.

"I did."

"Your family loves you more than you care about Jessi or her wellbeing. That's the reality of the situation. Yes; they would have accepted you and your decision had you killed Cassidy. But you didn't need me to tell you that, Kyle."

"You're right," Kyle said, "Do you have any other words to impart on me?"

Baylin's image was suddenly gone. Kyle looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen. There was nothing else for Kyle's mind to get across to Kyle.

_The last time I saw Adam Baylin was after he recovered and told us about Sarah. I always expected him to be here to help guide me through life when I needed him, but his death brought that idea to an end. But he still persists in my mind, as a figment that my own mind wishes to take on._

_ My memories of my birth father are too strong for me to let go. I'll even let this specter of him say everything I'm against, just so I can see him. He's the one person who Cassidy could never get at…because he only lives in my memories, now._

[Break]_  
><em>

"Lori! Wait up!"

Lori looked back, watching as Mark ran across the UW lawn towards her. She turned to face him fully, "I was wondering if I might have been too early. Almost left to come back later. Good thing you caught me now."

"Yeah, it is," Mark told her, "Look…"

"I know you're involved with Latnok. And I know Cassidy is your boss. So let me ask you this; did you know that he showed up at our house and tried to kill Kyle?"

"What?" Mark exclaimed in shock, "When did this happen?"

"About four nights ago. Thursday night," she told him.

"Thursday…that's when…," Mark started, shaking his head and quieting up before he said too much.

"What about Thursday?" questioned Lori, "Mark!"

"Well…you're not going to like it," he told her.

"Oh, really? Try me," she said.

"I met Kyle at a lab," Mark said, "I have to guess this was right before he…met Cassidy. I didn't know anything about this. I was checking up on the…"

"Cloned babies?" Lori asked.

He nodded, "So you know about that stuff, huh?"

"Yeah, we do," Lori replied, "So, what were you doing there?"

"Just checking up on them. I didn't entirely know what was going on. Kyle was there, sabotaging it all. I helped him after he explained things to me, and then went home. I actually haven't seen Cassidy since. I didn't think I could face him after what I did to the project. But…he actually tried to kill Kyle? Why?"

"I don't know," Lori replied, "Probably because Kyle wouldn't join with Latnok. Kyle almost killed him in the process, but he didn't." She omitted the fact that Kyle was Cassidy's brother. It wasn't something Mark needed to know.

"Cassidy doesn't strike me as the type," he told her.

"Yeah, well, look at our house and tell me otherwise," she said.

"Lori…if you came here to break up with me for my involvement…"

"Oh, god no!" she said, "I'm not going to break up with you! Look, as far as I can tell, you're too good a guy to go along with all of these things Cassidy's done, or doing. I'm sure you didn't know what was all going on. Right?"

"That's right," he replied, "I wouldn't lie to you."

"You'd better not," she said, giving him a smile, "So, that's all there is. We're still where we were, but now we both know more."

"You said that Cassidy tried to kill Kyle…how is he?"

"He won," she told him, "He was beat up when we found him, but he's fine. Just some emotional damage that still seems to be persisting. I think he's getting over that. If anyone can help him with it, it's Amanda, and they've been seeing each other more recently, at least."

"That's good," Mark said, "I'd hate to think that the group I'm involved with would have done anything lasting to Kyle like that. He's a great guy."

"Yeah. Mark…you should talk to Kyle sometime. Maybe you should get out of Latnok, before it's too late."

"Too late?" he questioned, "Is that some sort of warning of incoming danger?"

"I don't think so," Lori told him, "I don't think Kyle would do anything like that. But," she almost said Jessi's name to say she was alive, and say that she would do something, but instead went with, "But he has people who would do almost anything for him. For his will, or just to help or protect him in general. So you might jut want to be careful, and see Kyle, for your own protection."

"Y-yeah, I will," Mark assured her.

They kissed fairly awkwardly, and Lori headed off. Mark watched her go, and turned around, heading back towards the building he had just left, when he saw Nate standing in the doorway, waiting for him.

"Nice girlfriend," Nate commented.

"Shut up," Mark told him, trying to get past, but he couldn't, "Move!"

"Can't do that," Nate said.

"Why not?"

"Cassidy told me to get you, so that's what I'm doing."

"And what is that suppo…"

He stopped talking as Nate hit him with the electrical weapon, blasting him at pointblank, ramming the end into his chest where nobody would see it. There was some electricity crackling around Mark's body, but nobody was close enough to see it very well. Nobody noticed as Mark collapsed into Nate's awaiting arms and was dragged inside by Nate.

[Break]

"You didn't leave?" Foss demanded as Declan came into view.

"No. And I'm not going to. Look, I'm sorry for whatever it is I said to you, but I'm serious about this! I'm going to do whatever I can to help Kyle, and whether you help me or not is up to you! But if you want him protected as best as can be done, then you had better be the one to train me," Declan told him.

Tom Foss was looking at the picture frame, and looked to Declan. He set it down, this time with the picture up.

"It's ok. Go ahead and look," Foss told him softly.

Declan moved around the table, looking down. A woman and a young girl. Declan looked to Foss, "Who are they?"

"Erika and Sarah Foss," he said, "My wife and daughter."

"I didn't know you had a family," Declan told him, "Look, sorry about my comment earlier. I can imagine how that got at you."

"What got at me is that you don't know anything," he told Declan.

"What do you mean by that?" Declan demanded.

Foss remained silent for a good minute before finally talking, "My family is dead. I'm the only one left."

"What? How did this happen? Were they targeted by Latnok? Zyzzx? Madacorp?"

"No," he said, "They…they died in a car accident, years ago."

"Why are you telling me this?" Declan asked him, looking into Foss's eyes, seeing the pain, seeing the tears he was fighting back, "It's so hard on you, so why?"

"Because things in life are hard. That's why. You're doing this training despite how hard it is, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah…"

"If something in life is difficult, then the reward should be great, isn't that right? Well, it doesn't work like that all the time. Sometimes, but not all the time. They were killed by a drunk driver, Declan. And I only tell you this because I'm sure that you can be a great protector and guardian for Kyle.

"I was that drunk driver. I…I killed my own family on accident. What I'm doing here is part of my repentance for doing such a thing. For taking two beautiful and innocent lives from this world. I don't want to pass my burden onto you. I don't want my job to be easier by having someone like you doing what I do. You don't have anything to make up for, unlike me. Declan, you really have no reason to do this, unlike me. But thank you. Not for me, not for my family, but for the sake of Kyle."

"You really trust me, don't you?" he asked Foss, who was holding back his tears, keeping his voice strong, not letting it waver.

"I do. That's why I've told you everything. They live only in my memories now. Memories I can never allow to be disgraced. So never say anything again like you said earlier. And if you would, never bring anything I have just told you up again. I want to keep my personal and professional lives separated."

"But they are connected to each other," Declan said.

"Not in a way that truly matters," Foss replied, "My private life led to my professional, but that's it. Please, never bring it up."

Declan nodded, "Yeah, no problem," he put his hand on Foss's shoulder, "I'm going to make you very proud, Tom. I'm going to pass everything you throw at me. I'm going to become a great guardian for Kyle, and I'll be sure to do you proud."

"That's what I hope for," Foss told him.

"But I'll only give it my all if you can do something for me," Declan said.

"What's that?" Foss questioned warily.

"I can't make you stop blaming yourself, but…you should move on with your life. You really should. It's been years since they died, hasn't it? Based on how long I've known about you, that's a pretty good guess. At least five years, right? Just please…do me a favor. Do your wife and daughter a favor. Move ahead with your life, and leave me to do your job."

"I have a penance to complete. I have Kyle to protect!" Foss snapped at him for even suggesting the idea of retiring from this job.

"I understand, but please, for the sakes of your family, let me take over for you. Let me not only take over protecting Kyle, but also your penance. Two lives are better than one, right? What you started, I will finish."

"I don't know," Foss told him.

"Look. You listen to Kyle, right? Well, I'm just taking a shot in the dark, but I dare you to tell me he wouldn't want you to move on with your life. This is what he would want. For Kyle, for me, and most importantly, for your family…take this into consideration. Please."

[Break]

Kyle sat alone in his room, sitting in his tub. With the problems in his life currently, from Latnok to his paternity, his mind drifted to Amanda. She had wanted to be with him again, and he had gladly accepted. Things were right, so why was he thinking about this, now?

Because, as much as he wanted to be with her, he knew that they would have problems. The main problem would come from the fact that Latnok was apparently proactively after him, or at least Cassidy was. And Cassidy had the UW Latnok students. If he could spur some of them into action – and Nate was already enraged, no doubt – then there would be a problem.

So could he and Amanda completely fix things? If they could completely move past these threats, if he could find a way to protect her, then he could be with her.

There was a knock, and Amanda poked her head in, "Oh, good. I was hoping you'd be here."

"I'm glad you're here," Kyle said, standing up, "We need to talk. About us. About Latnok."

"What about it, Kyle?" she asked him.

"If we're going to be together again…now that Cassidy is after me, and that he could have others, we need to figure something out."

"What do we need to figure out, Kyle?"

"We need to figure out if we can actually be together," he admitted, "If I can properly protect you. Cassidy already threatened everybody I love. You're one of the targets."

"Kyle, I don't believe that this Cassidy guy would go so far as to hunt me or your family down and…"

"Kill you," Kyle said, his voice husky, filled with emotion, with pain, "You don't know about this man. I do. Please trust me, Amanda. Cassidy would come and harm you and the Tragers. We need to work something out, before things go really bad."

"If you really insist, Kyle," she said, sitting down in one end of his tub, "I don't want to think about this, but if you think that I'm in danger, then let's figure something out."

"Thank you," Kyle said, sitting on the other side of the tub, "I really do want to find a proper way to protect you. I know I can protect the Tragers, but you're not always here. You're not always within my power to protect."

"Well then, let's figure something out," she said.

[Break]

["Little Victories" by Matt Nathanson; ends at the next set of brackets: .com/watch?v=JyzkWUNyfwQ]

Josh walked into the kitchen, where Stephen and Nicole were preparing dinner for the night. Stephen looked to him, "So, you did your chores. Did you call Andy yet?"

"Yeah, I did. I finally got a hold of her," he said with a smile spreading across his face, "She told me that she was busy with unpacking yet and getting used to living in a new town. She still can't talk often, but at least it's a start."

After he finished, he had a slight look of depression, "You really miss talking to her every day, don't you?" Nicole asked him.

"I do," he said, shaking his head, "I…I think I love her."

"Hey, at least you've reconnected in some form," Stephen said.

Nicole told him, "Just wait. You two will be together again. It may take a few years, but I'm sure you'll be together again."

"Thanks mom, dad," Josh told them, nodding and walking out.

"Do you really think they'll be back together?" Stephen asked Nicole.

She shrugged, "I don't see why not. I really think what she and Josh has is real. I'm certain they'll be back together one day."

[Break]

"All right!" Foss shouted up to Declan, "Good shots! Now, get down here and we'll be done for the day! You're doing well so far, Declan!"

As Declan began to climb down, he nodded to Foss, "Thanks. I…I've only ever really been good at basketball, but this…this chance to become Kyle's guardian, to be your successor and partner…I know this is right. I know that this is where I belong in my life, and in Kyle's."

"Your life and Kyle's are mixed, are they?" he questioned.

Declan nodded once, "I believe so. I really do think that we have some sort of connected life."

Foss nodded, "Well then, you can't let Kyle down. Be back here tomorrow at noon, and we'll continue."

Declan smiled and held out his hand, "Yeah, I'll be here on time."

Foss clasped his hand, "Good. Let's make sure, together, that Kyle is as protected as he can be."

"It'll be an honor to serve alongside you," Declan told Foss, to which Foss only nodded.

[Break]

Kyle and Amanda stood up, with a system in place. Kyle and Amanda would stay together as often as possible, but only when at their own homes. When out, Kyle would always be alert, and ready to run if need be. Kyle was certain that Latnok or Cassidy may make a move in plain sight like that, and she would need to hurry to be safe.

"It's not as simple as we once had it, but yeah. I'll accept it, just so I can be with you," Amanda told him, "I don't want to be shut up in my house, away from you, trying to have a relationship. Even if you're always watching everything, I'll gladly have that so we can be together. So we can make new memories, and hopefully, stay together this time."

When she was walking out, Kyle began to think about her words. About her statement of creating new memories.

_Memories. Once more the concept comes to mind. Memories of the past may be something we wish to reclaim, to relive through thought or reality over and over again, but alas, it isn't always possible. My past with Amanda can only be in our memories. We have to set those good times aside and prepare to create more memories, but harder memories. Memories wrought in awareness, wariness, and danger._

_ As much as I want to be with Amanda, I can't introduce her to the danger that Cassidy presents. I can't put her into any sort of danger, but if I want a future with her, if we want to be together, we have to face this danger. Together._

_ But memories are a strong source. No matter what, they will always persist. So if nothing else, we still have our memories…_

Foss was sitting, looking at the picture of his wife and daughter, lost in his memories of good times with them, of love.

Josh was playing G-Force, thinking about Andy, thinking about their time together, and his love for her, including his marriage proposal, and how things would have been different now if she had taken it seriously enough and had accepted.

And then there was Jessi, sitting, thinking about the limited times she had had with Kyle, when they had kissed, when they had been together. And to memories of seeing Kyle with Amanda, but those memories were filled with more loathing. She wanted Kyle, and didn't want to accept Amanda being with him. But if nothing else, she had her memories of her limited times with Kyle. Not that she was going to give up. That wasn't her way.

And then it came back to Kyle, thinking about his memories of times past with Amanda, and of his time with Adam Baylin.

Finally, the memory of Cassidy's words that he was Kyle's brother.

_Memories may never leave us. Sometimes this is a good thing, but sometimes not. But we have to all move on. We have to put terrible memories behind us, while looking back on the good memories, and looking forward to crafting new memories that we will look forward to thinking about again in the future._

[Song ends]


	3. Jumping at Shadows

3: Jumping at Shadows

_Sometimes it's hard to understand what someone really means when they say something to you. Amanda told me that she accepts the ways I've come up with to protect her, and that our lives will be complicated as long as we're together – as long as I love her. She may have said one thing, but I suspect she meant another. I fear that she doesn't want it this way, and may want things to change._

_ Things can't change. I set things a specific way in order to protect her. Only with this plan can she truly be safe. This is the only plan I can trust right now, until we can figure out what Latnok and Cassidy are going to do. Even if she isn't very accepting of things, we have to move past that, and try to do our best together, reaching compromises that we can fulfill for both of our sakes._

_ For the sake of my love for Amanda, for one._

[Break]_  
><em>

"So, you and Amanda got back together, I see," Lori told Kyle as he walked inside.

"How did you know that?" he questioned. Ever since they had gotten together about a week ago, he hadn't said much about it. He hadn't actually told the Tragers anything about it, yet. And while Lori had told Mark that Kyle and Amanda had been spending more time together recently, she hadn't known that they were dating again.

She smiled, "I'm a woman, I have my ways. That, and I ran into Amanda earlier, and she told me."

Kyle's sharp hearing picked up on something. A slight change in her voice. It was raised a bit, likely with happiness at his being back together with the woman he was in love with. But there was something else in her voice as well, so he came right out and asked, "You don't think it's a good idea, do you?"

"I didn't say that," she told him.

"But you think it?"

"Well…honestly, a little," she said, sighing a bit, "Look; Amanda's a sweet girl, and I know how much you love her. But you and Tom Foss have told us about how dangerous things are. Are you really going to expose her to danger like this?"

"We have a system," Kyle admitted.

"A system?" she questioned, "Now that sounds kind of interesting."

"It's just that we figured out what we would do if Latnok came after me," he explained, "There's not much."

"You could pick up on how I didn't think it was a good idea, but not that this idea of a system doesn't sound that good to me?" she questioned, hinting her true feelings to him.

"You don't think this system will work, do you?"

"I don't know what it is, but no," she said, "I talked to Mark a bit about what happened. From everything I know about these guys who work for Latnok, they're crafty. I don't think a 'system' is going to work too well."

"I'll make it work!" Kyle defended.

"You just want it to work," she said, "There's a difference."

"You're sounding like mom," Josh said, walking into the room, "So, what we talking about here?"

"Amanda," Kyle said.

"He has a system," Lori told her brother.

"A system?" Josh smiled a bit, "Oh, I bet I know what this is about!"

"Get your head out of the gutter," Lori told him, "It's not anything like that."

"You mean Kyle hasn't explained that it's that. I'm sure it is something like that," Josh told Lori.

"What are you talking about?" Kyle questioned, confused.

"Don't ask him," Lori said.

"Sleeping with her, of course. Dodging her mother? I don't know; something like that," Josh said, giving his idea.

"No! Of course not!" Kyle said.

"So you don't want to sleep with her?" Josh questioned.

"Intercourse is often used to show love to the partner," Kyle said, "I love her. I would show her in any way, but I'm not going to do that with her! Not now. She wouldn't want that, and I don't either. Not until later in our lives."

"Don't let it pass you by," Josh said, "It's a wonderful feeling."

Lori made a sound of what was likely disgust, shaking her head, "You don't know much about it, do you, Josh?"

"I'm no virgin!" he defended.

"You and Andy, I figured," she said, "But,"

"Just because you've probably had more practice doesn't mean you know better than me," he said.

"Are you calling me a whore or slut or something?" she demanded, enraged.

"No!" he said, actually afraid of her as she shot to her feet in outrage, "I was just…"

He looked back to Kyle for help, but Kyle was gone, leaving Josh to take care of himself without Kyle's words of wisdom to back him up.

[Break]

"You have my stuff. I want it back!"

Amanda turned around after taking the trash out. She saw Nate standing a few feet away, hands in his pockets. She was afraid of his appearance, but put on a strong front.

"I don't have it," she told him, "I don't have any of it."

"Oh come on! You knocked me out and stole a lot of my research! Am I supposed to believe that you didn't keep any of it? Like that ring?"

"That ring belonged to Jessi's mother," Amanda said, "She has it."

"I suppose she has everything. She's the smart one, after all."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amanda demanded.

"No offense babe, but you're not exactly at her level," Nate said, fingering the electrical device in his pocket. He wasn't sure if Amanda had any of it or not, or if she knew where Jessi was. She could probably give him some information, and he would get some enjoyment out of seeing her in pain, after the pain that had been inflicted upon him.

"Don't call me that," she said, disgusted by his use of the word 'babe'.

"Fine. Where's Jessi and my stuff?" he demanded.

"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you," she said. Her mother wasn't home and wouldn't be home for a while. Kyle wasn't coming. Kyle, for all of his planning, hadn't actually told her that he would be listening for her to be in danger and would come at any time. He just expected them to be safe at home, with him nearby. She supposed that included that he would come to her aid at any time, so where was he?

Nate pulled his right hand free, showing the weapon, his finger on the button, ready to fire it, "Where is she?" he demanded.

It was one of the weaker models that Cassidy had spoken of. One used for interrogation purposes, for causing pain. He would enjoy this.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?"

Nate turned to see Declan standing behind him, out on a jog. Foss had sent him out running for today, to clear his mind and be ready for mental training in a few hours. He figured that a jog was the best. Declan had just taken it too far and had gone all the way back towards the Tragers house.

"Oh, you're one of Latnok's members, aren't you? I kind of recognize you," Declan said.

He aimed the device at Declan now, "I'll take care of you first, then," he said, no fear permeating his voice, but he was afraid. He wasn't ready for any sort of fight. He knew Amanda could hit pretty hard. If he focused all of his attention on this guy, she might get a good hit off on him, and maybe Kyle would come. If he took care of Amanda, he had little doubt that this guy might do a lot of damage.

"Try it," Declan said, "I've been waiting for a moment like this to test what I've learned."

"Nate!"

Nate turned towards Amanda, seeing Kyle standing there, the one who had shouted his name.

"Kyle! You're just in time to see some revenge dealt out on Latnok," Declan said.

"Declan, no," Kyle said sternly, "We're not going to sink to the level of some of their members and go to violence. We're going to talk, Nate."

"I don't want to talk to you. Unless you know where Jessi is, so I can get my stuff back. My research and my computer."

"Jessi wiped your computer, but I've seen your research," Kyle said, "How can you work for a group like Latnok, with what they're doing? Playing god and doing such immoral things for money? How can anyone work for that?" Kyle demanded of Nate.

Nate smiled, "Money makes the world turn, you know that, right? Well, our experiments fetch us a lot of money. Hence I do it for the money."

"That's sick," Kyle said.

"What are you talking about?" Amanda questioned him, "What experiments are you talking about?"

"Jessi probably mentioned that you shouldn't know," Kyle said, "If you were with her as she went through it."

"Yeah, she said something about that," Amanda said, "Even said I shouldn't know, that I couldn't handle it."

"Someone like you couldn't," Kyle said, not thinking.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"Someone good like you! A good heart, a good soul! You wouldn't be able to handle it," he said, hopefully recovering from his other words.

While they were bickering, Nate was preparing to fire. The moment they would touch, he would fire and take them both down. But he was very aware of how close Declan was behind him.

Nate was about to run. Obviously they weren't going to talk, and they weren't close enough to touching. There was no point here, and he knew he would get beat up if he stayed. He was sure that no matter what Kyle said, the guy behind him would just do as he felt was right.

As Nate attempted to turn to run, the man grabbed him by the collar, pulling him back roughly and into Amanda's yard. He dropped to a knee and tore the electrical weapon away from Nate before he could fire.

"No! Don't use it!" Nate shouted, not wanting to feel the pain of his own weapon.

"I wouldn't waste my time on someone pathetic like you," Declan said, dropping it and stepping on it, breaking the device.

Nate pushed himself up and ran, but Declan didn't pursue. Kyle and Amanda watched him go, but didn't say anything. They were at an uneasy silence after their vague conversation on the Latnok experiments.

There was a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning above their heads. Declan ran over, "I've got to go. I'll talk to you later Kyle," he said, running off back towards the warehouse where Foss was.

Amanda started back towards her house before the rain would fall. Kyle called after her, "Amanda!"

She turned, "I'm strong, Kyle. I think I'm strong enough to know what it is you're keeping from me. You told me we wouldn't have any more secrets. This is a secret."

"It's not about me," he said, "I'm not telling you for your own sake!"

"My own sake?" she questioned, "You don't have to keep trying to protect me like this. You can tell me! I want you to tell me!"

"I…I just can't. Please, trust me and believe me. I can't tell you," he said.

She turned away without a word and walked inside her house. He could hear the click of the lock of the door, and turned, defeated, back towards the Tragers house as the sky opened up, unleashing the heavy downpour associated with the storm that was flaring in the sky above.

[Break]

_I've thought before that rain can bring life just as easily as it brings forth death. The rain causes birth, while it can cause destruction and drowning. This heavy rain, causing the afternoon sky to become black as pitch with the storm it brings, is a rain that causes death. I fear to even think that my relationship with Amanda could be one such death, but she's had a hard decision choosing to come back to me. I just know that. Yet I've already broken her trust in me by not telling her about Latnok's plans with the cloned babies._

_ But how can I tell her? Even if it destroys our relationship, how can I tell her about that? She's too good to know. I can't allow her to worry about things like that. It's not her responsibility. It's mine. It's my duty and job to stop Latnok. My self-imposed duty._

_ She is my light; I can't let her into the dark of their plans. She may shine, but eventually all lights fade. I can't allow Amanda's to fade because of Latnok._

Kyle looked out the window. His room was very dark, with his lamp providing his only light.

He looked out into the downpour. It had been raining often recently, but this was the worst. Hopefully after this the rain would end. He knew it was foolish, but he hoped that the end of the rains would be the end of his problems with Amanda.

He vaguely remembered something that was coming up in about a week, something that he and Amanda were supposed to do, but he couldn't focus on it right now. He closed his eyes, rubbed them, and opened them again, looking back at the window.

His breath caught in his throat. His heart beat faster.

He saw Cassidy's face, out in the rain, staring in at him.

Kyle shot to his feet, overturning his chair. He ran to the window and threw it open, but there was nobody there. The image had gone as quickly as it had come to begin with, yet he had wanted to look outside just the same.

His head out in the pouring rain, getting drenched, he saw nobody. But his mind was filled with thoughts. He closed the window, not thinking to look down to see if there were muddy tracks, for already the rain had caused mud to swell around.

But there were no tracks. That's not to say it was because Kyle was just seeing things. That's because that Cassidy, with the technology that the Latnok students were developing, had access to it all, and to ways to mess with Kyle, like these boots that wouldn't leave footprints due to a property in them that sucked the substance that one would step in back into place. Mud, snow, anything, would be sucked back in, creating a filled footprint that would look pretty natural. He was wearing the prototype that Mark had helped make.

He wasn't there to scare Kyle. He wasn't acting like a ghost and trying to haunt Kyle.

He wanted the information from Kyle's head. He wanted the cloning information that only Kyle had. He didn't know how he was going to get it, but he figured that shivering, feeling miserable out in this storm would possibly help him. If he could just watch Kyle, spy on him, then perhaps he could gain some insight.

But he had found something more appeasing. If he played the role of the ghost or specter to Kyle, then maybe Kyle would start to panic. Maybe something would happen, and he would get some power over Kyle, or at least bring Kyle down a little.

But he detested the rain and cold and conditions of the storm, and so he walked off, content with his single scare. Perhaps that's all it would take. Perhaps all through the storm, his face appearing for only a few moments before Kyle would have the man jumping at shadows.

[Break]

Lori looked down at her phone again as she walked into the living room, looking up to see Stephen, "Good. Hey dad, have you seen Mark in class recently? I can't seem to get a hold of him."

"Mark?" he asked, "Come to think of it, no. He hasn't been in class for about a week."

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing on his attendance to say that," Stephen said, "Why? You can't reach him?"

"No. I haven't seen him in a week, and I can't call him," she said, "Dad, I'm kind of worried."

"Why?" Stephen asked, "He's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

"He's…," she didn't want to bring up Latnok, so she shook her head. If anything, she would ask Kyle or Jessi. Preferably Kyle. So she walked out of the room, tried calling and texting again, but nothing, so she went looking for Kyle and headed towards his room.

[Break]

"Cassidy, I need your help," Nate told his boss.

"My help? But you're a big boy, Nate. What do you need me for? Or has your quest to reclaim your things gone bad? Has that Amanda girl gotten the better of you once again?" Cassidy questioned him, rather bored and irritated by Nate just walking into his office.

"I don't think she has it," Nate said, "And I got blindsided, but that's beside the point," he muttered, "Look. I need to know where I can find Jessi."

"Jessi? What do you need her for?"

"I think she has my stuff," Nate replied, "I need to find her to get it all back."

"Here," he leaned across the desk, sliding a piece of paper forward, "I figured you'd come for that sooner or later. Her mother's apartment number and location," he said, "Good luck."

Nate nodded, "Yeah, thanks. Hey…what did you end up doing with Mark?"

"You're finally looking into your loose ends?" questioned Cassidy, shaking his head, "Why did I give you all of this information; make you so important, if you're not going to bother paying attention to your own plans like this?"

"I've been busy!" Nate said, attempting to defend himself. It had been his choice to go after Mark, more than Cassidy's, but Cassidy had a point. He hadn't actually checked up on things yet with Mark's status. All he knew was that after he had gotten Mark, he was being sent off for interrogation by some…specialists whom had been located by Cassidy at some other point. It sounded as though they were remnants of the "old regime" – as Cassidy had put it – of a place called Madacorp. They had managed to help construct something – or rather, reconstruct – called the C.I.R.; cerebral impulse relay machine.

Cassidy ran a hand through his still wet hair, "Information was extracted from Mark's brain with the C.I.R. We know that he helped Kyle to stop the cloned babies. That's about all we got out of him that's of interest to us."

"How is he right now?" Nate asked, "I heard that the chair is supposed to…I don't know; fry the brain, or something."

"That is a result under some circumstances. That includes the occupant, such as Kyle or Jessi. But with Mark, and the chair as it is, it wouldn't fry his brain, as you so eloquently put it. It did knock him out, and he hasn't woken up yet, though. He's pretty much comatose now, but we can still use the chair any time to get at his brain. It doesn't matter."

"Won't people be looking for him?" Nate questioned.

Cassidy shrugged, "Lives alone in an apartment, I've had payments sent out so no one seems suspicious of the apartment loss. We're fine so far."

"Whatever," Nate said, heading out.

Cassidy shook his head as he watched Nate leave. He started to regret making Nate the man he was bringing along on the inside, as a promoted student into the ranks of Latnok. But Nate had a certain drive to him that Cassidy liked, and wanted to use. That was the only purpose to having him anymore.

[Break]

"Kyle?" Lori walked into his room, seeing him pacing around the room, "Why are you pacing?"

"Thinking," he said, "Pacing is for thinking. That's what I'm doing."

"Yeah, I know what pacing is. I know what you're doing," she told him, "But why?"

"The more I pace, the more focused I am on my own thoughts. The less I notice around me," he informed her.

"Why are you trying not to notice things around you, though?" she questioned him.

"I see a face in the shadows," he said. There was a flash of lightning outside a few moments later, as he was turning. His eyes drifted to a corner. The flash's illumination caused the rough image of a face to appear, at least to Kyle's eyes. His heart skipped a beat in his shock, and he stopped, but then shook his head and screwed his eyes shut, continuing to pace.

"A face in the shadows? What are you talking about?" she questioned.

"I think I saw Cassidy's face in the storm," he said, "And ever since, I've been seeing his face pretty much everywhere in the shadows around me. It…it frightens me."

"Kyle, come on. You're better than this. You're smarter than this. You can get over it," she said, almost forgetting her reason for coming. Kyle was rational enough to get over this, right? Was she supposed to feel bad that she wasn't able to help him right now? Or was she supposed to put her question aside and try to help him, "Look, I doubt you saw anything. With everything that's been happening, I'm sure your mind is playing tricks on you."

"Maybe," he said, not hoping that it was, not hoping that it wasn't. If it was, then there was something wrong. If it wasn't, then Cassidy had been there and vanished just as suddenly. And it also showed the lengths Cassidy would go to; coming to the house in the middle of a storm like this and watching, potentially waiting to take his shot at the family.

"Look, I'm really sorry to intrude on this, but have you seen or heard from Mark lately?" she questioned him.

His head lifted up, "Mark?"

The last time he had seen or heard from Mark was when they were at the warehouse together, when he was getting Mark's help to take care of the cloned babies. Was something wrong? Did Latnok find out about Mark's involvement? Was she asking because he was in danger, or that something was wrong?

"I haven't heard from him in about a week," she said, "Dad hasn't seen or heard from him either."

Kyle felt sick. Had he swayed someone to his side and brought them into nothing but pain as a result? Was that what happened? Mark was discovered by Cassidy and Latnok? Was Kyle responsible?

"I haven't seen him since the night everything changed," he said, using that to refer to the night when Cassidy had attacked him, to the night when The Rack was razed, when the clone babies were dealt with.

"You mean you saw him at the warehouse?" she questioned, knowing he probably didn't see Mark at any other point that day.

He nodded, "Mark helped me. I…I fear I put him in danger as a result."

"Mark…Mark will be fine," she said, as if only attempting to assure herself that he would be fine, "I know he'll be safe. I know it."

"I hope he will be," Kyle told her.

[Break]

Nate turned the knob of the door to Jessi's apartment, walking in quietly, looking around. He didn't see her anywhere. He saw a stack of papers sitting on a counter and rushed over, only to feel the blade of a knife at his side.

"Violent as always," he muttered, glancing into Jessi's eyes at his side.

"I thought you might come eventually. I could hear your heartbeat from the main door. I've been waiting," she said, her voice filled with malice.

"What are you going to do? Kill me?" Nate questioned.

"Your words can't hide what you feel," she said, "I can hear your heartbeat increasing. You're afraid. I might kill you…but Kyle wouldn't want that. I wouldn't want that. I won't kill you, because I'm no killer."

"Cassidy's told me a lot of stuff," Nate told her nonchalantly, "Tell that to the man in the woods."

He felt the blade get a bit harder on his side, almost cutting his shirt and into his skin. Any more pressure and he would be cut.

"Don't go there if you know what's good for you," she warned.

"Ok, ok. I get it," he said, "Can you put the knife down? I came here to offer you something."

"Offer me what?" she demanded.

"A place in the inner circle of Latnok," he told her.

"You're lying," she told him.

"Can you feel that?" he questioned her, "My heartbeat? Feel my skin. I'm not lying to you, Jessi."

He wasn't. Well, he was. If it was up to him, she would be in the inner circle, but he wasn't sent to make that offer from anyone who could do anything about it. It was something he would like to offer her, a lie he had practiced for some time, hoping he would finally encounter Jessi again. And it was working.

"You're telling the truth," she said, taken back by the offer, "They…they want me?"

He knew he couldn't say anything, or she could tell he was lying if he said "yes", but what could he do? He decided to remain quiet, instead of hope that she was too distracted by her own thoughts to read through his lie. The knife was in hand, but she wasn't using it; it was away from him.

He watched her, then reached for his papers. His computer wasn't there, but this would have to do for now. As he reached around the stack, Jessi brought the knife up towards him, "Yeah, not going to happen. Put them down if you want to live."

He set the papers back down and backed away, "I will get everything back," he threatened.

"I doubt that," she said, "Now go and run back to Cassidy and Latnok. You're not getting anything from me."

He walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him, pondering his next move. Then he placed a phone call to a number that Cassidy had given him. Kyle's cell.

[Break]

Kyle heard his phone ringing. He picked it up, but didn't recognize the number. He hit a button and raised it to his ear, "Hello?"

"Hey there, Kyle," Nate said, "Glad you answered."

"I don't know how you got my number, but I'm hanging up," he said.

"If you do that, you'll never know why I called. Or the points I bring to the table," Nate said.

"I don't care what it is, if it's Latnok," he informed Nate.

"Look. I know that Latnok wants you. I just don't see why. You have this amazing gift with your brain, or so I keep being told by Cassidy. Yet what do you do with it? Almost nothing!"

"I do good for people who deserve it," Kyle said.

"What constitutes deserving?" Nate questioned him, "Are you sure you're doing the right things? Maybe people should solve their own problems, Kyle."

"People aren't always strong enough to solve thing son their own," Kyle said, "And it is the goal of humans to be decent to one another, to help one another. That's only proper."

"And is what Latnok doing not proper?" questioned Nate.

"You're playing god!" Kyle shouted.

"Or are we bridging the gap between man and god?" Nate questioned him, "Maybe we're trying to make the gap between the world of life on Earth and the afterlife of Heaven, of God, more closely connected. Maybe we're doing what you're doing, but in a different way."

"I've heard that before," Kyle said, "But I don't believe it."

"How many people do you think you can help in your lifetime, Kyle? A couple dozen? Maybe a hundred?"

"What's this have to do with anything?" questioned Kyle.

"You're one man. One man who goes about attempting to live a normal teenage life while helping people on the side. Is that what you would say you do? While we here at Latnok are a larger organization with our roots in Albert Einstein. We have the means and the membership to do great good. Kyle, who do you think is going to do the better good for the greater amount of people?"

"You sell whatever it is you make to people," Kyle said, "You were going to have those cloned babies sold to the highest bidder! You may be claiming proper intentions right now, Nate, but I know that nothing Latnok is doing is for the good of the people. It's for the good of Latnok's own pockets."

"That's not true. We're a benevolent organization, Kyle. And we're better than you. You have to agree and admit that you're only one person, while we are many. We have greater means with which to take care of people, help people. You don't."

Kyle hated to try to argue. Nate had some proper points here. Was he just trying to rile Kyle up, or did he actually want to present these points in an attempt to sway Kyle's allegiance?

"Whatever it is you're doing Nate, I'm not joining Latnok," Kyle said firmly.

"What I'm doing? I'm just telling you where you're at fault!" Nate said, "I couldn't care less if you joined us. All we want out of you is the clone information, and we're good. Doesn't matter if you give it to us voluntarily, we force it out, or something else. That's all that you matter for anymore, Kyle. You've given up your chances to join us as of the end of this call. You've burned the last bridge. Got that?"

"You're not authorized to say that, are you?" Kyle questioned him, "You're trying to get at me."

Nate hung up. Kyle wondered if he was right or not with that final guess. It would turn out that he was, as Nate had little authority, but Kyle didn't know that at the time. He sighed and put his phone on his desk when he heard the door open.

"Amanda?"

She was wet, and apparently had used an umbrella, since she wasn't completely soaked through. She closed his door, "Kyle, we need to have a talk."

["Sway" by The Perishers; ends at the next set of brackets: .com/watch?v=LNyXGLNAE6U]

"A talk about what?" he questioned.

"You need to tell me about what's going on!" she pleaded, "Please, I can handle it, whatever it is that you have to say. Whatever secret it is that you and Jessi share about whatever's going on…you can tell me!"

"I wish I could," he admitted, "But I can't. It would be…"

"Too dangerous. I know," she said, "Kyle, I'm with you now. We're together. I'm prepared to face danger, just like the Tragers and Declan. Please, tell me!" she pleaded again, deep from the heart.

"I can't," he said, shaking his head, "It's…it's not for someone as good as you to be exposed to. You wouldn't like it. I just…I just so desperately want to protect you. If you don't know anything, then Latnok won't come after you."

"You know that secrets caused our relationship last time to end, right?"

"I remember, yeah," he said.

She looked at the floor, trying to find words, then looked up into his eyes, "Do you want that to happen again?"

"Of course not!" he said, "I never want to lose you again, Amanda! I love you!"

"If you try to keep these secrets…we might not make it," she said, "We might not stay together much longer."

_As much as I wanted to tell Amanda the truth, I realized that it was for my own selfish reasons. It was so that I could still be with her, and that was it. She had her own life to live, and how could I interfere by making her a target?_

_ No matter how much I cared about her, I could never tell her about Latnok, and about their cloned baby plots. She would be hurt to hear about what was going to happen to innocent babies, I'm sure about that. She would be a target. I couldn't let that happen._

"I'm really sorry, but I can't tell you."

"I can handle myself!" Amanda told him, "Look at yourself, Kyle! Not telling me is killing you, isn't it? You hate this pain that I'm in for not being included in any of this! You're in so much pain yourself as a result! I deserve to know, Kyle. I deserve to know what's going on, as long as we're together.

"I can take care of myself. And look! The Tragers know about this, don't they? You would tell them, let them know, let them face this danger, but not me? I could understand if they didn't know and I didn't, but why put your family in danger, but not me? What sort of love is that?"

"It's because I want to protect all of you, but…," Kyle actually didn't have an answer for her. Was it because the Tragers knowing made it easier for him to do what he had to do? To slip away and take care of things without questions? What was it that made him tell them? Was his bond with his family more powerful than his love for Amanda?

Was it even love?

Amanda shook her head, "Goodbye, Kyle. We'll talk again another time," she said, putting her hand on the door, about to open it.

"Amanda!" Kyle called out, despite the short distance.

She didn't answer him, and walked out, closing the door behind herself, leaving Kyle alone in the dark room, still fearing the shadows in the corners.

_Cassidy may haunt me, and Amanda may be angry with me, but at least her light has banished some of his dark. The shadows around me are no longer as fearful as they once were, all thanks to Amanda's mere presence._

_ But now what? How can I tell her anything when it would cause such danger? Or do I care about her too much? But if I care about her, should I tell her? Should I make her happy? Or should I not tell her for her own protection?_

_ I no longer know what I have to do for Amanda's sake. It's eating me apart inside. I need to make a decision, and soon. If I don't, I may lose Amanda once again. Perhaps this time for good. _

[Song ends]


	4. Mixed Doubles

4: Mixed Doubles

_When you tell someone you plan on doing something, you are bound by your honor to do it. However, not everyone has a deep enough sense of honor in order to follow through. This honor can stem from a respect of the person you've told you would do something for, or in this case, a great affection._

It had been a week since Kyle had run into Nate, had seen Cassidy's face at his window. At the time he had realized that something was coming up that he and Amanda were supposed to do, but he couldn't think of it at the time, and hadn't realized it until that morning when Amanda had come to get him, despite the problems they were having in their relationship.

_A charity tennis game that Amanda had wanted the two of us to partake in; I had never played the game before, but I knew enough of it to be able to take care of it. Racquets struck balls across the court, keeping inside of the lines to score, utilizing forehands, backhands, and volleys. The game seemed simple overall, but nothing was ever simple._

_ When Amanda and I got back together, she had already signed up for this, for a charity for terminal children in the hospitals, trying to raise money to help them. Of course I agreed to play and help her out, as she needed a partner and didn't want a random one who might not share her vision, but might be there for just the game, as charity is more important than any individual's wants or needs, in some respects._

_ She had said she had done this in the past, and had found those who didn't care for the charities, but rather the event itself, the game that was involved, or something of the sort. They were indeed around. Even now, even as Amanda and I aren't doing the best, she still wants me, and I still want to help her. I would do it no matter what, if only to make her happy with the charity. Her happiness is the most important thing to me, right now._

The two walked around for a bit before finding the court they were supposed to play their first game on. They had spoken little so far, other than the conventional greetings, a quick kiss that felt awkward on both ends, and very little conversation, mostly about the game. As Amanda was getting a racquet out of her bag, Kyle turned, seeing Jessi, "What's Jessi doing here?" he wondered aloud.

"Jessi's here?" questioned Amanda, looking back, seeing Jessi. She feared for a moment that she was there for Kyle, but dismissed the thought. Even though they weren't doing well at the moment due to his secret keeping, she was with Kyle, and planned on staying with him. Jessi wanted him too, however, but she would stay Jessi's hand as long as she could.

Kyle took his racquet from his bag and followed Amanda to the court, as their first game was about to begin. It wasn't about winning; it was about participating, doing their best to raise money by playing.

"How good are you?" Amanda asked him without any worry; it was all for fun, anyway.

"Never played," Kyle said, "I told you that when I signed up for you."

"You haven't practiced yet?" she asked him, kind of annoyed by the look of it.

"I haven't had the time," he replied. With Latnok and Cassidy, he really hadn't had time to worry about something like this.

"Well, it's all for charity and fun anyway," she told him, smiling, "We'll be fine."

Kyle felt the game as it started. Just like when he had started playing basketball a few years ago, he was excelling here. He knew what he was doing; his body was fast and able, able to reach the ball as it bounced to the other side of the court. He would return the volley quickly, performing quick calculations, determining how much force to deliver, where to aim it, and exactly where it would land and how it would react on the other side of the court.

When it was his time to serve, it would be an ace; they would have no chance to return. He knew that wasn't the point of a charity game, so he toned it down, making it easier to return, making the game more fair, which seemed to appease Amanda by the look on her face.

Regardless, even toning his play down, they still won. Either they had already gotten a good start with Kyle's play, or he and Amanda were just better in general than the other pair of doubles.

Kyle felt it was the former; and he felt a bit ashamed for their win as a result.

The game lasted three sets, about half an hour in total. When it was over, Kyle followed Amanda off the court, both of them rather quiet in the awkward situation they had found themselves in.

For the past week, they had had minimal interaction, and that interaction was rather awkward. This seemed to be no different.

"You played well," Kyle told her after some silence, "I think better than the other team."

"Thank you, so did you," she said, "Though I don't need to tell you that. Just try to keep it under control from now on, ok?" Her words at the end held no bitterness, but Kyle detected a bit of an edge in those words, as if she were annoyed by his abilities, despite loving presumably everything about him, or so she had once told him, abilities and all. But this was charity, she had a right to feel that way right now.

"I'll do my best," Kyle told her. He saw Jessi walking around, nobody with her. Everybody had a partner with them, but not Jessi. Kyle remembered Amanda saying that you were given a partner if you didn't have one, hence her desire to have him. He wondered who Jessi would end up with as her partner.

After walking past and briefly watching some of the other games, Jessi ended up with Amanda and Kyle, walking with them. Amanda held dignified silence, and Kyle didn't want to seem rude, so he spoke, "Jessi, what are you doing here?" Though, he felt that might have come off a bit rude, too.

"Well, I figured that if you're doing this, then why shouldn't I?"

"It's not a game to see who's a better player," he told her, "Competition isn't the point."

"Jessi, if you're here for competition, you're not really going to find it," Amanda said bitterly, annoyed that Jessi wanted to ruin something like charity for her own amusement, for the sake of play. She was now one of those people that Amanda hated at these events.

"And you think I can only be interested in being the best?" she demanded of them, "No, I'm here for the same reason you are. Charity. If you can be good and do this, then so can I."

"I don't believe that," Amanda told her. Jessi said nothing back.

"You're here alone," Kyle said, stating the obvious, changing the subject before Amanda and Jessi really got into it, "Do you have a partner?"

"I'm waiting to meet my partner at the start of my game in a few minutes," she said, "It'll be announced then."

"Good luck," Kyle said.

"Try not to overuse your abilities," Amanda warned her, "These are for fun; not competition."

"I'll do my best," she said mockingly, clearly not caring. She wanted to win, as was who she was, but she would regard Amanda's words and listen to them as best as she could, for no sake other than Kyle's, who would want her to do as Amanda had said. Even though she had implied and pretty much said she was there for competition, she really would try her best to keep herself under control. She had seen his game, after all, and had seen the change in it. From being undefeatable to being a normal player.

After a few minutes Jessi left them, heading to her game.

"Should we go watch?" Kyle asked.

"I want to see if she actually plays fairly," Amanda said.

"You don't think she will?"

"What do you think, Kyle? She's not the type who would, do you think?"

"No, not really." Kyle hated to have to say that, but he knew that Jessi probably wouldn't keep her game under control.

Wondering who Jessi's partner would be, both of them went over to watch. There was a tournament setup to these games, so they may have to play her eventually, especially considering she probably wouldn't play completely fairly. Unless they got knocked out quickly, in which case they would likely avoid her.

When she walked onto the court with her racquet, Kyle and Amanda watched from outside the chain link walls around the set of three courts side by side. She waited while her two opponents were on the other side, waiting.

"I think her partner isn't showing up," Amanda said, "Good for him, or her. Who would want to play with Jessi?"

"Just because the partner is late?" Kyle asked, looking at his watch, "A minute late."

"Just wait," she said, "I'm sure he won't show up if he's a minute late already."

Kyle noticed that Amanda was pretty bitter when talking about Jessi, when talking about anything having to do with Jessi. Sure, the two had bonded a bit when breaking into Nate's apartment, but now it was over. There were problems with Kyle and Amanda, and Jessi wasn't making things better. Anger and annoyance were being misplaced into this situation from other situations, now.

As two minutes came and went, the partner still hadn't shown up. In another half a minute they heard the door swinging shut as someone walked through it. Kyle, Amanda, Jessi, and the other two players looked back to see the person who was Jessi's partner.

"Sorry I'm late, Jessi," he said smoothly.

"Cassidy!" Jessi hissed.

He gave her a sly smile, "Come on, Jess, no need for hostility. Now, let's see how you play against these two," he said, holding up his racquet by the butt end, spinning it around his palm by twirling it with his fingers, "I love the game; I'm sure you'll also do very well. Just don't…overdo it. I want to see you play as you."

"How I play will be me," she growled, "The me that I want to show."

"As you, not as the...," he shook his head, "I want to see you play as Jessi, not as 781228," he explained, putting it in terms she would hopefully have nothing to complain on.

"Jessi and 781228 are the same," she said.

"Why do I even try?" he asked, "Just play fairly," he finished, ending their whispering. He walked to his spot as the serve came from the other side.

Three sets, Jessi and Cassidy won them all, the game taking about half an hour in total with their breaks. During the game Amanda and Kyle whispered to each other.

"Is she using her abilities? I can't tell," Amanda said to Kyle.

"I don't know," he replied, "I hope she isn't."

"You think she's that good?" asked Amanda.

"She could very well be," Kyle said, though he had never heard any interest from Jessi in the game, or anything about the game at all. So he was feeling as though she probably was using her abilities. He was actually more interested in Cassidy than Jessi.

Jessi was actually playing with a mix of her skill and as a normal girl, while Cassidy proved just how good he truly was. The game had been a stalemate for some time, as the other two were also very good, but not good enough.

When they came off the courts, Kyle approached Cassidy, "What are you doing here?" he shouted in demand.

"Keep your voice down, Kyle," Cassidy told him, "Don't want to attract a crowd, brother."

"I'm not your brother!" he hissed.

"Dispute it all you like; blood is blood, no matter how thin," Cassidy stated, "Now, the reason I'm here, right? I already said, I love the game."

"Is that it?" Kyle demanded, "I don't believe that."

"That's it," he replied, brushing past Kyle, "Later, mate."

"Kyle, maybe he is here just for the charity, or the game," Amanda said, trying to calm Kyle down. His rage was fairly visible at the moment, and she didn't like seeing him like this.

"No; I don't think so," Kyle said, "He's here for another reason. I have no doubt about that."

Cassidy, Kyle, Jessi and Amanda were all there. Kyle didn't like that at all. Was he after Amanda? Trying to get Jessi to help him? Manipulate her? Get Kyle in on his plans?

What was he trying to do?

[Break]

"Up!" Foss shouted at Declan, who was climbing the wall again, this time he was using a different approach; the rocks were in different, harder and farther spaced locations, the rocks were a bit slipperier, and Declan was wearing weights with a time limit.

"Come on! You need to finish this training! This will harden your body; make you stronger. Kyle needs strong guardians! He needs strength in his life in order to protect him! Or do you plan on failing Kyle? Failing me? Are you only halfhearted in this, Declan?"

Declan was shouting, pulling himself up inch by inch, getting a little closer to the top. He gripped a stone, his hand slipping. He only held on with his left hand now, and only then with three fingers, trying to get his other finger and thumb around it. He kicked at the wall, his feet scrabbling for footholds.

"Come on! You have a minute left!" screamed Foss.

Declan shouted, pushing his all into it. He gripped the stones in both hands, found one foothold, and pushed up, reaching the next stones. His heart was pounding rapidly in his chest, his teeth gritted. His muscles were straining, but he was almost there!

And then he made it. He fell onto the top of the wall, just lying there, catching his breath, resting.

"Good job!" Foss shouted, actually congratulating him, "Get down here and you can rest!"

"I'd rest up here if you'd let me!" Declan shouted, "I'm already here, for one!"

"Too bad! Come down!" Foss shouted to him, though evidently happy that Declan had done it.

Declan picked himself up, forcing himself back over the edge, riding down. He unhooked the rope and collapsed, panting, his body aching.

"You did very well today," Foss told him.

"This is really the first time you've complimented me on my training and I've actually believed it," he admitted to Foss.

"You've come a long way, Declan," Foss told him, helping him get his gear off, "As soon as you finish your marksmanship, I figure you'll be ready."

"I'd rather not have a gun," Declan told him, "Nothing but trouble. Besides, I don't think I could use it when the time comes."

"When I was in Iraq, I always thought to shoot at the uniform, at the idea of what the enemy should look like. It was always hard to shoot someone not looking like you thought the enemy would look. They looked too human to shoot. No matter the situation you encounter, Declan, the enemy will look too human to you."

"I don't think I'd be able to shoot regardless," he admitted to Foss.

"In the heat of the moment, defending your life and the lives entrusted to you, you can pull the trigger," Foss told him.

"You had to?"

"Yeah. It's hard, but it's worth defending those you care about."

"Do you know where Kyle is today?" Declan asked him.

Foss nodded, "Yeah, a charity tennis game with Amanda. It's my job to know where he is. Didn't you know? You should start learning where he's going to be without having to ask him; learn without asking, learn on your own. That's something you'll have to start doing now."

"Yeah, I'll start on that," Declan said. He noticed something off about Foss's voice when he had mentioned a charity tennis game, "Is…is something wrong about Kyle going to that game?" he questioned Foss.

"It just got me thinking," Foss replied to him, remaining vague, as if hoping that Declan wouldn't ask, even though he knew the younger man would ask him.

"What were you thinking about?" he questioned.

"Adam Baylin," he replied, "Kyle doing this…it reminds me of Adam, of a story he told me from when he was younger."

"What are you talking about?" Declan asked.

"Adam once told me that he had gone and participated in a charity tennis game, as he had enjoyed the sport, and he wanted to help out the charity. He had a girlfriend at the time, and she had been there with him. It wasn't doubles; it was singles, so she watched him as he played.

"However, Sarah was there as well, and she had a boyfriend. They were both playing, both were very good. Adam wasn't so good, but he was better than those he had been playing, at the very least.

"Eventually he ended up playing against Sarah, who was much better than him. When they played, Adam couldn't do anything, and he lost. But…during their game, there was something that had happened between them. This was their first meeting, and they ended up talking, and they left together, ignoring their significant others. Adam abandoned his girlfriend and Sarah her boyfriend. They didn't start dating yet, but it was obvious where things were going."

"Were you there, or something? How do you know some of these details? I don't think Adam would have told you that it was obvious, considering that seems like something from an outside perspective." He stopped for a moment, "You weren't the boyfriend, were you?"

Foss had a shallow, dry laugh, "No. I wasn't, nor was I there. Adam actually told me those details as well." He shook his head, then he continued, "I know that Kyle just got back together with Amanda, and you told me they were already having trouble with Kyle's secrets about Latnok. I'm wondering if this can't pull them closer together, if Kyle is enough like Baylin to end up fixing it."

"Baylin left his girlfriend," Declan pointed out.

"But there's nobody there to be Kyle's Sarah," Foss said, "I would assume."

"There's Jessi," Declan said.

"I doubt she's there," Foss replied, "Or that history actually will repeat itself."

[Break]

"Why are you my partner?" Jessi demanded, grabbing Cassidy by his collar and pushing him against a wall behind a locker room.

"I was randomly given to be your partner," Cassidy told her, "Luck of the draw, that's all." He pushed at her hands, but couldn't break her grip, "Would you mind releasing me, partner?"

"You're doing this for a reason," Jessi growled, slamming him against the wall, "I'm not your partner," she hissed, then added, "Tell me why! If you don't, I'll get angry; when I get angry, I start hurting people."

"I'm serious; it was just luck that we got drawn together," Cassidy told her, "And like it or not, we are partners."

"Luck for who?" she demanded, releasing him.

He smoothed out his shirt, "You, for having a good partner, me for having someone to talk to."

"Talk about what? I won't betray Kyle."

"I don't want you to," he told her, "Just tell me something. How much do you know about the babies?"

"You were going to sell them to the highest bidder," she growled, "Make them into a profitable slave force, or something like that. That's what I know, and I don't care that you know. We know who you were lining up as buyers; we know how much they were going to pay. We don't know why they wanted them, but it isn't for anything good, we can imagine."

"You keep using 'we', as in you and Kyle, correct?"

"That's all you get."

"Fine, fine," he replied, "All I need to know." He walked off, giving a wave backwards towards her before thrusting his hands into his pockets and turning the corner, back to the courts.

[Break]

As the day went on, the remaining duos were becoming fewer and fewer. Declan got away from Foss and went to watch, stating he would watch over Kyle during this, and that it might do Kyle some good to have someone else to think about, rather than just Amanda and their problems.

Meanwhile, Kyle and Amanda were having some problems. Talking about Jessi, theorizing about her purpose, as it was something they kept bringing up inadvertently, and arguing over. They were trying to make things work out a bit better, but they kept coming back to the old issues of Jessi knowing – despite Amanda recognizing her as someone like Kyle – and Amanda being left in the dark, and that Kyle evidently didn't want the relationship to work out, if he was keeping things secret. This had been going on through the entire day from Jessi's first game up until now.

However, before Declan could go up to Kyle and talk to him after finding him, a game was starting. Declan went and sat down a bit away, pulling out his phone and making a call.

"Jackie, pick up," he said, "Come on! I've been getting your voicemail for weeks! What, you don't like me anymore? Just call me, please." He wasn't going to worry; she could get distracted with work, he knew that. He had heard that Lori hadn't gotten in touch with Mark for a while, but told her not to worry about that, either. He knew there were things to worry about; however, he just didn't want to think about them.

After all, Nate and Cassidy were still around. He had been to the UW, seen other Latnok students. Was it just friends of Kyle's friends who were being targeted by Latnok, perhaps? Was this about Kyle, or coincidence that neither had been picking up recently?

Declan looked around the people going about their days here, watching the various games being played. He saw Jessi and Cassidy playing as a team in one court, shocked that Jessi was even there, let alone playing with Cassidy as her partner. He started to worry about Kyle, about what Foss had commented on history repeating.

He prayed that Kyle would make the right choice. That if history was meant to repeat, that Amanda wouldn't be hurt by this. He knew that Kyle would do anything for Amanda, and had just gotten her back. Even though they had a rough patch, he knew Kyle would do anything to make it work out, other than expose her to the dangers of Latnok.

He just prayed he wouldn't hurt her more by falling for Jessi, as Adam had fallen for Sarah at an event just like this one.

Declan then took another glance around, catching sight of Nate, making his way towards a locker room. He had just seen Kyle leaving it to go into the court. He figured that the players kept things in there while carrying their bag and racquets with them to the courts, while clothes and everything else was in the lockers.

Why would Nate go there? He wasn't playing, by the look of him. He was getting in the way again, wasn't he? Declan got up and ran towards the locker room, slipping inside, following behind Nate as the man went towards a locker and started to try the padlock, trying different number combinations, but not getting anything.

"Cracking that code a bit too hard, Latnok boy?" questioned Declan from behind, "Let me guess; it's because it's not a computer, right?"

Nate turned around, "What are you doing here?" He didn't speak of Declan's shot at him of being a computer geek or anything, because Nate didn't care. He knew he wasn't; he was valuable, and he wouldn't let that eat at him. After all, it was a worthless insult by someone who wouldn't get the better of him again.

"Whose locker is that? Or do I even have to ask? Kyle's, isn't it?"

"What do you care?"

"You really don't understand friendship, do you?" Declan questioned.

After his long training with Foss, Declan was ready for just about anything. When Nate reached into his pocket, no doubt for his electrical weapon, Declan was just as fast, if not faster. He confirmed he was faster when he drew first, drawing the handgun Foss had licensed to him from his jacket, pulling it up on Nate, stopping him from completing his draw.

"Put it down," Declan threatened.

"You won't shoot me," Nate said without a hint of worry, hand still in pocket, "I know you won't. Not with all these people around, not with your self-righteous attitude. You're not a murderer, are you?"

"I'm Kyle's guardian," Declan said, "I'll do what I must to protect him."

"You don't even know if I was after him, so this could be for nothing, you know."

"I have no doubt you're after him with some plot," Declan said, "Hence your entire point for being here, and possibly Cassidy's as well. Now, remove your hand from your pocket, leave the weapon inside."

"Why are you willing to give your freedom for Kyle?" Nate demanded, "I just don't get it."

"Because I'm his friend. This is what friends do for each other. Kyle protects the people he loves; and that's very admirable. I want to do the same, so I'm protecting him so he can continue to protect those he loves, those who are his friends, his family. I can't do the things he can, so I'm just giving him more time and freedom to continue on his own way."

"I see," Nate said, "Do you have the ability to shoot me?"

"No," Declan easily admitted, "But I will stop you no matter what."

Nate removed his hand, revealing that he had left the weapon in his pocket, "Go," Declan said, pushing him towards the door. He put his gun in his jacket, keeping it out of sight. Even with a concealed weapons license, he didn't like to let anyone see it. He pushed Nate again, "Stay away from Kyle, Amanda, and Jessi. Just stay away, or you'll pay."

Nate walked off, seemingly heeding Declan's words.

[Break]

After a few more matches, the finals were up. Kyle and Amanda had had some difficulty holding normal conversations with each other, as they always went to Jessi or Latnok and the secrets. During these conversations, as they walked, Kyle was also haunted by Cassidy's face every time he saw Cassidy or Jessi, keeping him quiet about the incident where he had seen Cassidy, and also holding his tongue from completely talking about Latnok. As far as he was concerned, Latnok and Cassidy were the same; the quieter that was kept, the better for his emotional and mental state. Amanda didn't realize what it did to him, bringing it up.

They had continued to win, but at this point the games were harder. Kyle played completely fairly, and their wins were only out of luck sometimes. None the less, like Jessi and Cassidy, they had reached the finals. Kyle almost wondered if Cassidy hadn't had some part to play in this, such as paying off the other teams, or something like that.

"We get ten minutes for a break," Amanda told Kyle, "I'm going to the girl's locker room until the game," she said.

"I need to go to the boy's locker room," Kyle said, parting ways with her. He had only gone because Cassidy had gone inside. He needed to see the man before they played their game, or he would certainly be unable to play properly.

As Kyle walked in, he went into the bathroom, where he figured Cassidy was, as he wasn't in any of the main locker room.

"Kyle, what do you need?" Cassidy asked, lifting his dripping face from the sink where he was splashing water up onto himself. He used a paper towel to dry his face while Kyle spoke to him.

"Were you at my house a week ago?" he demanded, "Spying on me in the rain?"

"No," Cassidy said quickly, simply. He was a good liar, Kyle decided, or he was truthful. It was hard to tell, "Why? You miss my face? Or did you hope that your big brother had come to see you?" he mocked a bit, playing with Kyle's emotional state, knowing that he would hate this.

"You're not my brother," Kyle growled.

"By blood, yes I am," Cassidy told him.

"Brothers and sisters are people who are there for each other. I'm Josh's and Lori's brother; we've had fights, we've had our problems, but we've had our moments. We've shared; loved, laughed, fought…that's what being a sibling is. Blood doesn't matter." Kyle said, reiterating Declan's points from weeks ago.

"Blood is all that matters, Kyle," Cassidy told him, "Are you trying to separate yourself from our mum? Is that it? Or from me? You can't outrun your family, Kyle. We are your blood family; the only ones you have left, now that Adam Baylin is dead and gone. We are your fate, your destiny, now, Kyle. Join us, and you'll understand that."

"I will never join Latnok," Kyle growled.

"Good; then it's my heritage," Cassidy said, "I don't have to share with my little brother. I don't understand how you would have gotten it in the first place; you're the younger brother. But now mum will be disappointed…"

"You're only the face; you've said as much yourself," Kyle told him, "What would you want with Latnok?"

"Power," Cassidy said, turning to completely face him, a grim smile setting in on his face, "Tell me…have you told that attractive little girl you're with anything yet? I know you haven't, because you want to keep her safe. But let me tell you something, Kyle. If it wasn't for mum, I would have our people going after her again, not as a test this time, but as a way to make you cooperate.

"Mum has a sense of honor that I don't quite understand, as it only comes up in this situation; but I would do whatever was needed for Latnok. I would grab that girl myself if I had to; I would torture her in front of you, rape her in front of you, if I had to, in order to get the secrets from your head. Will I have to do that, little brother? I'd sooner rape her, as much as I hate the prospect of the action."

_Anger isn't something someone should embrace. Anger isn't a good emotion; it's volatile, disturbing, but it can feel good. Striking someone should never feel right, but at this moment, it did._

Cassidy hit the sink as Kyle punched him in the face. He gasped out and slid to the ground, nursing his cut cheek from where Kyle had punched him, "Can't believe you broke the skin on that one," Cassidy muttered, picking himself up and taking some toweling and turning on the sink to try to clean the cut.

Kyle walked away from him, leaving Cassidy in the silence to fix his cut. Kyle headed back to the courts, where Jessi waited. He had been surprised that Cassidy hadn't called out after him, said anything.

"You're going to lose," she told him, falling in beside him.

"I'm not in the mood, Jessi," Kyle told her darkly.

"What's wrong?" she questioned.

He looked back, Amanda was there. Cassidy followed close behind, eyeing Amanda, making sure that Kyle caught that. He knew what Cassidy would do if he were in charge of Latnok, and it made Kyle's blood boil. If Cassidy got his way, then Kyle had basically failed.

No matter what, he had to bring down Latnok, or Cassidy. Or did he have to accept that his fate was to lead Latnok? Mold it into something new? Then he would control Cassidy, or rather, those who controlled Cassidy. He broke off from Jessi, allowing her to walk to her end of the court.

"What happened to you?" Jessi asked Cassidy when he met up with her. A small smile played on her face at the sight of him.

"Nothing to worry about," Cassidy assured her.

"Kyle, wasn't it?"

"No; just slipped and hit myself on the sink," he replied.

"I saw Kyle follow you in," she told him.

"By sink I mean fist," Cassidy told her.

When Amanda and Kyle were beside each other, they said little, other than Amanda saying, "Do your best, but don't –,"

"I know," he replied, cutting her off, then he wished he had let her speak, rather than sound so rude and curt like he just had.

As the game began, it was a first poor start for Kyle. Every time he saw Cassidy, he saw that night a week ago, Cassidy's face appearing. He could hear his threats, his threats to torture and hurt Amanda. They were the most vivid threats, the most vivid imagery that unwillingly came to his head.

As the game continued, Kyle was basically useless. He had left Amanda to try on her own for the most part, and it wasn't working. Cassidy was too good, and even with Jessi playing as she would have if she weren't a prime example of a human, it was evident that Cassidy alone could beat them. Jessi was no longer contributing in comparison to their abilities.

She was like a candle to the roaring bonfire that he was in terms of skill.

"Game, set, match," was heard by Kyle after long moments of losing himself in thought, in anger, in pain. He looked at the scoreboard, scarcely realizing that Cassidy and Jessi had easily won.

"We played our best," Amanda told him, "I think you could have stepped your game up a bit during this one, even though Jessi wasn't. Just to try to match Cassidy a bit better. I mean, I wouldn't have minded, after what he did to you and your house."

"Amanda…I couldn't do anything," he admitted, "I…no, never mind."

"Kyle, tell me!" she urged as the spectators were leaving. They were alone on the court now, with only Declan nearby, Cassidy having left already, and Jessi about to leave, though Declan was unseen, and Jessi wasn't by the court, but could hear.

["Bent" by Matt Nathanson; ends at the next set of brackets: .com/watch?v=ZsSKidg84lg]

"Just like before…I can't tell you," he said, shaking his head, "As much as it hurts, I just can't tell you. There are two things," Kyle told her, "I can't tell you either."

"Then why even tell me that?" she questioned him.

"Because I want you to know how much pain I'm in. Amanda, I want to tell you everything I can. I know I'll lose you if I don't…but I can't put you in that danger."

"I won't be in danger, Kyle," she told him softly.

Cassidy's words flooded Kyle's mind: _I would grab that girl myself if I had to; I would torture her in front of you, rape her in front of you, if I had to, in order to get the secrets from your head._

"Amanda, if I told you or not, you'd still be in danger. Cassidy told me as much. He would hurt you no matter what." It hurt Kyle to have to admit her danger, but he knew he had to. He hated not being able to tell her either way, but still believed she'd be better not knowing.

"If he told you, then tell me," she urged him, "If it doesn't matter, then let me know. You were withholding to protect me, weren't you?"

"I withheld to protect you, and shield you from the sins against humanity they were committing. I can't tell you. Even if you're not safe either way, I can't let you know about how dark this side of humanity is, Amanda."

"If you can't tell me anything…"

"Are you breaking up with me?" Kyle asked her, pain filling him, his breath catching in his throat, his heart beating faster with the urgency of what could happen.

"No. I don't want that. But…but I do want time apart from you, Kyle. I think we need time to ourselves. Maybe you'll come to tell me when we get back together; if we get back together. Kyle…we just need this time apart."

_I knew the wisdom of her words. If we spent time apart to think as we had to, to think differently, we may reach conclusions about how to proceed with our relationship. I might realize in time that I had to tell Amanda, that she could handle it._

_ Or maybe I would realize that her soundness of mind over not knowing these atrocious sins that Latnok was committing was worth my not being happy. No matter what, I would have to focus on her, and these problems, over the time apart._

"If that's what you want…"

"It is."

"Then we'll spend some time apart," he said, hiding the pain.

Declan was nearby, keeping out of sight as Foss had taught him. He became shocked by their conversation. He shook his head, thinking about Foss's story, and that history could repeat itself.

"Please Kyle, figure something out," he muttered, finding that he was better off with Amanda than Jessi, "Don't fall into the same situation as your father."

Amanda and Kyle parted ways with a kiss, and both left. Declan watched as Amanda left, with Kyle just standing there. He may have been accepting of it, but he was obviously in shock.

Kyle looked down at the court, then lifted his head. He didn't watch Amanda leave; he just looked ahead, remaining standing there.

He may have been ok with parting ways, but clearly it still affected him deeply. He was losing the woman he loved, and even if he did something about it, it wouldn't do much good.

There was little he could do for her safety anymore. He had guardians, but could he be Amanda's guardian? He wondered…Latnok had managed to trap him into a role he was willing to play, and that he would be all the easier to get under control from.

_I have people willing to protect me. I have Tom Foss, my friends, family, all of them willing to help me, willing to give for me. But…can I be that same man for Amanda? I'm the one who's important…is it my job to protect her? Yes. Yes it is. But something still doesn't feel right about all of this._

Latnok was winning, it seemed. He hated to think that, but knew it to be true.

[Song ends]


	5. One More Time

Author's Note: To inkykenrd, since I can't send you a message, here's a reply to your review. Yes; there is the Jessi/Nicole chapter/episode coming up. It's the next entry, actually, which I have to write this weekend. The title is "All Roads Lead to Nowhere". I'm also glad you think I'm keeping people in character; I've had some troubles with Josh and Nicole, primarily.

I've also seemed to have figured out how to edit these properly for breaks.

* * *

><p>5: One More Time<p>

_Sometimes despite your best efforts, things don't work out the way you want, and you bend to fit the ways that someone else wants. If you care about the person, you will bend to their will and do as they ask. For me, the answer was an easy one. I bent to what Amanda wanted out of my love and my dedication to her. We may not be together in the truest sense of the word, but I know that this will only bring us closer, if it all works out._

_ I would do anything to see to it that this works out the way it is meant to, and I'm certain Amanda would as well. We both care so much about each other that without each other, there wouldn't be much point to this. We would be broken up, not experimenting by taking time away like this. But we may break up if I can't figure out what to do next._

_ Do I tell Amanda about Latnok's plans that were against the will of God – which Amanda holds so dearly? – or do I tell her for the sake of our relationship? Cassidy already threatened Amanda with so much, if she knows anything or not, so what do I do?_

_ And then there's Jessi. Amanda and I taking time away from each other with hopes for new perspectives. A new perspective can be gained through a new view on life, and Jessi would certainly be that. But…could I do that? Could I see Jessi like that, even for a short time, to gain a new outlook on my relationship with Amanda?_

_ Adam Baylin and Sarah were in a relationship, and we're the people they left behind. Should that bit of history repeat itself, I wonder? Or history be damned? I don't know._

* * *

><p>Kyle walked into the living room to hear Josh playing G-Force on the couch. He motioned Kyle to come closer, so he did as beseeched.<p>

"Kyle! Man, I've got a question for you," Josh told him.

"A question? What is it?"

"Well, I've been getting in touch with Andy more recently, and a lot more easily," he said, "I was hoping you could help rig something up for me."

"Rig something up?"

"Yeah. Like help hooking this headset into the phones, or something," he said, nodding his head to show the headset he wore for his game, "So I can talk to Andy directly, without all these idiots on here listening to us."

Kyle looked at the television screen, hoping that the headset wasn't on right then, in case Josh made someone angry, "Can't you just use the phone?" Kyle asked him.

"What? You mean you want me to tie up the line like that?" he questioned.

"Your care about that really surprises me," Kyle said.

"Yeah, I know. Look; I wouldn't care if I did that or not, but I don't want to run the risk of being booted off my call to Andy. We have…important things to talk about. So, can you do it? I don't want to run up a phone bill for my cell, don't want to get kicked off the home phone, and want to be able to have my own way. Through the game."

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do," Kyle said, then paused for a few moments before deciding that he should ask, "Josh…are you and Andy doing well?"

"I wouldn't be asking for you to do this if we weren't," Josh said, "Why? Troubles in your paradise?"

"You could say that," Kyle said, leaving it at that, "I'm just happy to see that you and Andy are doing well."

"We're doing very well. Between Declan hooking up a way to talk to her on the day she left, and now you doing this for me, it seems like the universe or something is just giving us ways to try to continue our relationship, as if she never left."

"You're taking that easier now, at least," Kyle said.

"Yeah, I guess. I still wish she was here though," Josh told him.

Kyle nodded, "When you're done I'll work on rewiring that headset through the game, through the internet and…"

"Whoa, I don't need the scientific explanation of what you're doing," Josh said, "I don't want to be…talked down to. It'll put me down, and I don't want to get off this high that I'm feeling right now from talking to Andy."

"Yeah, ok." Kyle left the room, heading towards the kitchen, where Lori was there on her cell, smiling and laughing.

"Did you get Mark?" Kyle asked as he came in, taking a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He undid the cap and waited for her answer.

She shook her head, then moved the phone so she could speak without speaking into the receiver, "Declan," she told him.

"Declan?" he asked, surprised, "What about Mark?"

She put the phone down, "If you really must know, I still haven't gotten in touch with Mark. Declan's been there in the meantime, though. Though he asks about you a lot, I know he's still not over me. I just can't bring myself to break his heart."

"Wasn't he dating that Jackie from the UW?" Kyle asked.

Lori nodded, "I guess so, but I don't know what's going on there. Maybe he knows nobody will ever compare to me," she smiled, laughing a bit.

Kyle had a small smile on his face, "I like the thought of you two together."

"Kyle, as much as I like Declan, we're not getting back together."

"I'm not trying to push you two," Kyle said, "I'm just saying…"

"I know what you're saying," she told him, then moved the phone, "Yeah Declan, I'm still here."

"You're not telling him I'm here?" Kyle asked her.

"If I did, he'd talk to you for probably an hour," she told Kyle.

"I'll go, then," Kyle said, leaving the room and heading upstairs to the bathroom, stopping outside of Stephen and Nicole's room. He wasn't one to listen through the door like this, but there was something about the partially opened door that made him want to hear, as if they wanted someone to hear.

"I'm getting more money," Stephen was telling her, "They're paying me more at the UW! This is great news!"

"I'm so happy for you, Stephen," Nicole was telling him. Kyle, at the door, pushed it open a bit. They turned, "Kyle, come here," Nicole said.

He walked in, "I heard that you were getting a raise," Kyle told Stephen, "I thought I'd come in and congratulate you."

"Thanks," Stephen said to him.

"I…I have to ask you something," Kyle told him.

"What is it?"

"Have you seen Mark recently?"

"Surprisingly, no. Not for nearly three weeks."

Kyle nodded. He was having a bad feeling about this.

"I also have some news that you missed," Nicole told Kyle, "I'm starting to see patients again. Not at home, but with a small practice that hired me."

"That's great, Nicole. I know it seemed hard for you to give it up before," Kyle told her.

She smiled and nodded to him, "It was, but now I get another chance to help people."

Help people. Kyle always admired that, and she was one of the reasons he tried to help people. There was something about her words this time that made him start to think differently, though. He wasn't sure why.

_Was it because of Adam Baylin trying to create me to be able to help people, and thinking about what Cassidy is trying to do at the same time, along with Latnok, and make the other clones into monetary gain, no matter what the cost? Or is it some other reason those words resonate within me so?_

Kyle was returning to his bedroom when he saw Jessi closing the window behind her, "Jessi," he said.

She turned, "Kyle," she held up a newspaper, "Have you seen this?"

"What is it?" he asked, walking over and taking it as she handed it to him. It was about a new computer system that was nearly finished.

"A computer system that can boost the abilities of an MRI scan to extreme levels," she told him, "Supposedly it can attempt to map out specific thoughts and dig through specific data in the brain. The article says it's supposed to be used to find damage in the brain, perhaps be a way to fix insanity or mental diseases, but…"

Kyle had finished the article and was looking up, "It mentions the cerebral impulse relay machine. I thought that it was gone…"

"I know. That's why I brought it to you," she told him, "Looks like Latnok is trying to use the C.I.R. with this new software, because I have no doubt that Latnok has some influence over that software's creation."

"But this is referring to a sale to the medical community, to a private clinic," Kyle said, "It doesn't seem like Latnok is buying it. It doesn't even seem like they're using it. It reads like they made it, and are selling it."

"I did some research on my own," Jessi said, "It seems the C.I.R. is being rented out to that clinic for the time being, for testing on patients with mental illness."

"They're doing good with it…," Kyle muttered.

"It's a cover," she said, "They're seeing if it works as it's supposed to, then they're coming after you, just like last time. And unlike last time, it's stronger. It will get the information from your brain, Kyle. You need to be careful."

"I know," he replied, "There's only one thing we can do."

"You want to destroy the software, don't you?" she questioned him, "Or the C.I.R.? Either way, problem solved."

"We're going to make a computer virus," Kyle told her, "If we can destroy the program and create a malware to eradicate every trace of it from every computer connected to the internet, we should be fine. We'll make sure that the malware will hit any computer at any time it connects, searching for that program or any traces of it. We'll be sure it's eradicated."

"We have to hurry, then," Jessi told him, "We won't have much time. The software is going live tomorrow at noon, but a private test is being done at six in the morning. If that test is successful, there's no doubt in my mind that they'll come for you after, tomorrow, or the next day."

Kyle nodded, "We don't have much time before they come for me, that much we know. They aren't going to risk a private practice run on me, though. They need to test it on someone with a severe mental illness in order to see how effective it truly is."

"Then we have to work fast, like I already said," she said, "How are we going to get it to work, though? We don't know much about the program, other than what we can guess must be in it to work as they claim it to. That, and we need to be close to get it to work. Probably right at the program."

"We need to break in and insert the malware into the program itself," Kyle said, "You and I can do it." He wanted to call Tom Foss, but knew that Foss wouldn't want Kyle going into such danger. The farther he stayed away from the C.I.R. the better. As good as Foss would be on this mission, it wasn't worth it.

Kyle needed to go. He needed to be a part of this.

* * *

><p>As the two worked into the late hours of the night, sitting in Kyle's room, working off of two laptops and collaborating to make the malware effective, Kyle continued to be lost in thought, both about their job and about his feelings for her.<p>

_I've loved Amanda since first laying my eyes on her about three years ago. She's a pure, amazing woman, but Jessi is like me. She's amazing, but she's not pure. She's a damaged, possibly broken woman, looking for her place in the world, much like I am. Am I afraid to think about Jessi? But why should I be? We both have feelings for each other; we both know that. Am I afraid to think about leaving Amanda and starting something new?_

_ Fear of the unknown has never really stopped me, but this is something different. This is a matter of love. Can…can I really be afraid? I had similar feelings – butterflies, as it's called – when I had my first date with Amanda. This is nearly the same, but with some fear mixed in as well. Am I afraid of leaving Amanda, or of hurting her?_

"Kyle?"

Her word broke his thoughts. Kyle turned to Jessi, "Yeah?"

"It's done," she said, holding up a USB flashdrive, "The malware."

He took the drive from her hands, "Thank you, Jessi."

"I'm the only one who could help you. You don't need to thank me," she said, "I would have stopped Latnok's plans myself, regardless."

"Tell me…why?" he asked.

"Because they're after you," she told him, "I won't let anything happen to you if I can help it. And Cassidy killed Sarah, Cassidy is Latnok. I need to do something against them whenever I can."

He nodded. She may have had some wrong reasons – revenge, vengeance – but she was right. "Thank you, Jessi, for all of your help."

What else could he say? He wanted to say more. He wanted to tell her that he had feelings for her as well, but he couldn't. He couldn't say or do anything right now, lest he hurt Amanda inadvertently.

This was a precarious position he was in in these matters of the heart. Why was his own heart so complicated?

* * *

><p>At four thirty in the morning, Kyle and Jessi snuck out of his room, through the window. Jessi had stayed the night in an attempt to help Kyle find plans of the private clinic, but to no avail. They found pictures, but no plans. They were able to guess where the C.I.R. might be due to pictures on the website for the clinic, for those wealthy enough to be able to get help there for themselves or loved ones.<p>

They still weren't certain of the location, but a guess was better than nothing. There was no doubt going to be security of some sort. Perhaps Latnok issued, expecting something, perhaps not.

As the two of them headed in that direction in a taxi, they never saw Declan's SUV following them from a distance. Kyle and Jessi, usually so careful, never noticed. Perhaps they were too focused, perhaps tired – hopefully not tired. Declan didn't know if they had noticed him or not, but hoped they hadn't.

He was ready to be one of Kyle's guardians, but preferred to be a hidden ally, one stuck in the shadows, like Foss. He didn't even want Kyle to know, until it was time. As he drove he reached down, checking his gun under his coat, just to be sure the weapon was there. The weapon he despised, but that Foss made him carry with him.

He was hoping he wouldn't need to use it, but was ready to if need be.

* * *

><p>As the taxi left Kyle and Jessi a block away from the private clinic, the two moved slowly, cautiously, keeping an eye out for any signs of guards, Latnok, anyone or anything – cameras and the like included.<p>

Nothing.

"I think we're safe until we reach the clinic grounds," Kyle said.

"If this is Latnok, then I don't think so," Jessi said, "We're not safe, period."

"I know," he replied, "With Latnok, that is the assumption you should always take with you, but I really do think we're safe."

The sky had a little light to it. It wasn't twilight, but it wasn't black like the night was. It was a cold morning, thanks to the hour, but they couldn't complain. The job ahead of them was far too important.

As they walked past the last building, a sizeable clinic sat farther back away from the street, a fence around the entire lot, a path leading up through the sizeable lawn to the building itself. There were guards about, but only one patrolling the grounds from what the two could make out, and one on the door. A few cameras were present for security reasons as well. But that was to be expected, like the guard. From the research, this clinic was for the rich, and for the mentally diseased relations of the rich. This clinic focused fairly heavily on mental illness, so guards were a good idea.

"Latnok issued I'm sure," Kyle muttered to Jessi at the sight of the guards.

"On three, we go," Jessi told Kyle.

"I'll deal with the cameras," he said.

Jessi climbed over the low fence first, keeping low, dressed in all black, now that they had changed after getting out of the taxi. It wouldn't have been smart, at the hour, to dress in all black in the taxi. Kyle climbed over after her, keeping low as well.

"Three," she said, running straight for the door. The guard's back was to them, while the guard at the door slumped down, no sounds escaping his throat. Jessi had bent the water inside of his body, along with the water molecules in the breath in his lungs, to silently drop him, as she had partially done to Cassidy during their act not long ago.

Kyle was running slower, finding the security cameras. He was focusing on hitting the lenses on the cameras, using the dew of the morning to move over the lenses, then push into them by pushing the molecules away from the water in Kyle's own body to crack the lenses. It was very hard, with such little dew and so great a distance, but it was working. Besides, there were only three that needed to go down.

When they reached the door, Jessi had propped the man up in the corner, to make it look like he still stood. It was a bit of a clichéd trick to try, but they agreed that it was the best approach, because it could buy them time. Jessi tried the door, but found it lock. Instead of try to pick it, she tightened her grip and gave a sharp yank, breaking the bolt, letting the two inside.

Kyle closed the door behind them. There were cameras, but they would be easy enough to interfere with with both of them together. Their combined powers could do some internal damage to the cameras to knock them out. The problem would be orderlies and any other Latnok guards positioned inside.

"This way," Kyle said, leading her through the first corridor on the right. They crept through, knocking out cameras as they went with their abilities, creating electrical disturbances inside to do enough damage to render them useless. Twice they had to stop and crouch low behind anything they could as guards walked by.

"I should just deal with them," Jessi told him rather angrily.

"No," Kyle told her, "If you start taking out guards, someone's going to suspect something when there's no reports."

"You didn't have a problem out front."

"That's one guard," Kyle replied.

Meanwhile, back at the door, Declan was following them, keeping low; using everything Tom Foss had taught him about stealth training and entry, infiltration. He was able to keep hidden from every guard without having to deal with them, and he was certain that neither Kyle nor Jessi realized they were being followed, or they would have dealt with him by now.

When Kyle and Jessi reached a large set of observation windows, they stopped. When the guard passed by, they moved towards the windows, keeping low, looking into the room beyond, where sat an object from the nightmares of both of them.

The chair, the C.I.R.

There were various people moving around inside, hooking an older woman up to the machine. There were computers all around, and people working on them, no doubt to introduce the program. Kyle and Jessi continued to watch, but also continued to look for guards coming.

Declan watched the two of them from behind, keeping low and at a point not far away. He looked around, but no guards were nearby. He rose, seeing through, but keeping mostly hidden behind the desk he was at. He could just barely see inside.

"What do we do?" Jessi asked.

"You're asking me?"

"You wouldn't approve of my approach," Jessi told him.

"Right," Kyle said, looking around, "We're going to have to wait. We'll let them do this, then when they leave, we'll get inside."

"If they leave," Jessi said.

"Don't even think about it," Kyle said.

"You need someone to provide a distraction so you can introduce the malware," she told him, "I'll do it."

"No. You won't."

"It's the only way," she told him.

"There are other ways," he said, "We just have to wait them out."

"That could take hours. We'll be discovered before that," Jessi told him.

"It's a risk we'll have to take."

"No," she said, starting away, "I'm going to create a distraction. There's only one door, so I'll go through the window. I'll break through and do what I have to."

"Jessi, I'm telling you no," he said.

She turned back to him, giving him a coy smile, "You're not in charge of me. If we were together, I might let you order me around."

"I'm with Amanda," Kyle told her, "This isn't the place for this."

"You're not technically with her," Jessi told him.

"I said this isn't…"

"I know," she said, creeping away.

"Jessi!" he hissed, but she wasn't going to listen. He would have to do it her way, if she was giving him no other choice. He knew she would be fine, but he also knew the world was a hard place to live in. There was the very real possibility of losing her, especially with Latnok's involvement here. They had already shown no interest in Jessi anymore; she was nothing to them.

But he knew she would be fine. It wasn't logical; he just knew.

He rose up slightly from his crouch, watching as Jessi made a move for something – it looked like a lamp. She grabbed it and was about to throw it through the window when a security guard saw her.

Kyle saw that inside, they were distracted, and ran out to help when Jessi was able to avoid the security guard and use the lamp to take him down. Kyle ran for the door, going around the room and rushing inside, only seeing the woman in the chair, but she paid him no attention. She probably thought this all was a hallucination, or something pertaining to her illness, something she was used to seeing. Something strange and out of place.

Kyle ran for the computers, looking up, out the window. Jessi was keeping the guards busy. Why were there less than there were when he started running? Were they going off and getting others?

He inserted the flashdrive into the computer system, bringing it up. He began to upload it into the computers, into the C.I.R., but it was slow. It wasn't working properly.

"Come on!" he hissed to the machine, "Work! There's no reason for you not to work!"

Logically, technologically, there really was no reason for it not to work. It should have worked perfectly and brought the program crashing down, stopping this experiment, but it wasn't. In fact, the scan was already in process on the C.I.R., already running on the woman.

Kyle took a moment to grab the chart from a table next to him, flipping through it. He looked at the computer readouts of the woman's brain activity, seeing with a cold dread that the program did work. This was something that medicine had not yet ever been able to do; map out the damages in the brain specifically, and actually dig into the brain to show the sources, the exact sources, down to the smallest increment, and what could be done to try to fix the problem.

_Such a beautiful scan I've never seen. This woman – many others – because of Latnok and this program have the ability to have their minds restored, their lives returned to them, if proper surgery would be done on these parts of the brain. No doubt Latnok can do that as well. But unfortunately, even something so beautiful must be destroyed._

_ There is always a way for good to happen, and perhaps this program will someday be brought back, and good will be done with it. But right now, this program is just being tested on good intentions for the sake of use on bad intentions later. No matter what, this program needs to be destroyed._

_ That is the cold reality of the world. I wish it weren't so._

Finally, the malware was going live in the system. He looked up from the computer screen, seeing Jessi outside had taken down the guards and was looking up a corridor where more guards were no doubt coming from. Then Kyle heard a gunshot.

"Jessi!" he screamed as loudly as he could, watching her go down, blood splashing up on the window she had stood in front of. He ignored the program and ran to the window, breaking through it and grabbing her downed body, pulling her away from the glass.

"You idiot," she hissed, grabbing him by the collar, even from her downed position, "Forget me!" He could tell her much pain she was in, "It's only in my shoulder. It's nothing. Finish the upload!"

"It's uploading," he told her, "I'm not leaving you to lie here defenselessly. You're my friend. You're the only other person in the world who's like me, Jessi. I'm not going to leave you in harm's way like this!"

She had a condescending smile appear on her face, "Well, I guess I should have seen that coming." She lost her smile, "Kyle…I don't know if I would have been able to do that for anyone; even you. This mission is too important."

"I know, but your life is just as important."

"…thank you."

"Come on," he tried to help her up, "I don't know what's keeping those guards, but they should be here soon, I think. Or they're trying to surround us in the corridors, or something. They have to be planning something."

"We need to get out, fast," she agreed, "How else can I get out alive and try to be more like you?"

"More like me?"

"You saved me when I wouldn't have saved anyone," she said, "I…I really want to be like that. I don't want to be broken anymore. I…I want to have you help fix me. Kyle…," her hand went up to his face, resting on his cheek in a manner that Jessi wouldn't normally use, showing emotion where she normally wouldn't, "can…can you help me to be like you?"

"When we get out of here alive, I'll do my best," he told her, "But we have to get out alive for that to happen."

"You spoke as if you believed we would without much difficulty," she commented.

"I'm hoping that'll be true."

"You're going to make me better; let me tell you something. The world is a hard place. I really don't think hope is something we can count on here."

"I know," he replied solemnly, helping her to her feet. She grabbed her arm, closed her eyes and focused. In moments, the bullet was in her hand, dropping to the floor, but the wound wasn't closing, she couldn't heal it.

"You've had too much trauma, and removal of the bullet drained you," he said, putting his hands to her bloody wound, "Let me…"

"No!" she snapped, "You aren't going to waste your energy on me. Not until we get out alive!"

"Right," he said, helping her along the curved wall of the observation room where the C.I.R. was located. They ducked inside, using the myriad of windows to look around, as foolish a move as it was. There was nobody around in any direction.

Kyle rushed to the computer, "The malware is live," he told her, "The program is going down!"

Jessi was looking at another monitor, "I can see it working from here, too," she said, watching the brain scans on the woman. They were real-time, and now they were fading, with the program going down.

Then the alarms were going off. It sounded like a fire alarm, probably because that's all there was in the clinic. The woman in the chair began to scream out and panic, but they couldn't understand her, nor could they try to calm her, not when they heard all the feet rushing towards their location, using their hearing to pick this up.

"We have to go," Jessi said, rushing towards the door and turning back, "Kyle! Now!"

He looked at the C.I.R., wishing he could destroy it before it could be used on him, before the real reason for it could be performed. He knew that even without the program, they could still probably get his information, but in fragments. They might try anyway, just because he had made Latnok angry.

"Kyle!"

Why had he even stopped? He knew they had to go, but what was it about the C.I.R. that made him stop like this? Was it what it stood for? The woman still inside of it, screaming out, even if for another reason? He wished he could destroy the chair and be done with it, but they didn't have time.

"Yeah, sorry," he ran towards Jessi, getting out ahead of her and looking off ahead. He closed his eyes, listening, then pointed straight ahead, "This way! We can go around the outside, through the backyard. I'm sure this is the way. We'll jump the fence in back and get to another street, rather than the way we came in."

"Got it," she said, following him through the set of doors ahead. Two guards ,but Kyle managed to stop the door they were trying to come through, pushing one palm against the other side to hold it closed. Then he took a pipe from the wall – torn off by Jessi – and rammed it into the door to keep it closed, if only for a short time. They took off, finding the back doors and breaking through them to get outside, racing for the back fence.

Inside, Declan was running around, looking for them. He knew he couldn't destroy the chair, even though he knew of it from Foss. If he destroyed it, what would Kyle think? Kyle had wanted to destroy it, but lacked the time. Destroying it would signal something was going on, before Declan wanted him to know.

But not destroying it would mean it would be problematic in the future. But even if he wanted to, he had no way to destroy it, and no time, since too many guards for him to handle were approaching. He would have to start shooting, and he didn't want to do that.

He took off, hoping to get out alive, and hoping that Kyle and Jessi had also made it.

* * *

><p><em>Jessi's wound wasn't that bad, fortunately. She had managed to brace herself to avoid having her bone damaged too much, which was the main concern. Healing her took a lot out of me, but it was worth it. It was worth it to see her free of pain, to see her happy, for that and for completing the mission and destroying the program.<em>

Kyle was walking home at around six in the morning, nearly at his street. As he turned the corner, a gun went off. The bullet just missed him, or he would have been killed. He turned, seeing a man in a black mask running away. "Hey!" he shouted, about to run after him, when he fell to one knee, too drained from healing Jessi to give chase.

He pushed himself up, certain of Latnok. He walked towards the house again, but pondered why they were trying to kill him. That wasn't what Latnok had tried to do before…

"You look terrible, brother."

Cassidy was walking towards Kyle, who was still on a knee. Kyle pushed himself up and swayed a bit as Cassidy approached. He held his hands up, "No weapons," he told Kyle.

"Why is Latnok trying to kill me?" Kyle demanded.

"We're not," Cassidy assured him.

He couldn't tell if Cassidy was lying, as usual.

"Then why did that man just take a shot at me?" Kyle demanded.

Cassidy shrugged, "How would I know? I'm serious; we have orders not to harm you more than we need to. Does killing you sound like something we would do? We need that information from your head."

_Cassidy may have been telling the truth, or he may have been lying. Regardless, it made sense. They need me alive for the knowledge I still have in my head. Killing me would make that information lost, unless Latnok decided to cut their losses, especially after today's events so far. But I have to find myself agreeing with Cassidy. Or was the gunshot just to offset me? I have to believe Cassidy is truthful, but that the gunman was his, just to scare me. Why would Cassidy be so close, just like the shooter, if they weren't connected?_

"Later," Cassidy said, walking past him.

"No hard time to give me?" Kyle questioned him, "That's not like you."

"It's not like you to be prodding me on, either," Cassidy told him, "I can see we're both not like ourselves today."

He continued to walk away. What was his point? Kyle walked off, finally getting back home. He walked around to the bedroom window and going in through the window he had left unlocked, climbing into his tub and falling to sleep, making sure to lock the windows first, just in case.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Lori let Declan inside. "Hey Trager," he told her.<p>

"Don't say that; we're not dating anymore," she told him.

"Old habits die hard. Hey…is Kyle around?"

"Of course you're here to see Kyle!" she exclaimed in mock pain and shock, "Come on; he's probably still sleeping."

"Sleeping? At noon?"

"Yeah, I know. It's weird."

She motioned for him to come in. He walked past her, heading towards the bedroom.

"I'll be in the living room when you want to see me," she said, walking off. When she was gone, Declan stopped at the door, about to open it, when he heard something inside.

* * *

><p>"Jessi?" Kyle was sitting up in his tub, watching Jessi climb through the window, even though he had locked them. He wasn't so tired that he had forgotten.<p>

"New trick," she said.

"You have energy left to do some trick?" he questioned.

"I recovered pretty fast, actually," she said, smiling cockily, "Just another way I'm better than you. That, and I figured out how to magnetize the iron in my blood against the metal of your latch so I could unlock your window from outside."

"So…what are you doing here, Jessi?" he asked her, getting out of the tub and standing up.

["Start a Fire" by Ryan Star, .com/watch?v=IrsaRTlePN4]

"Kyle…Amanda told me she would do whatever she could to get you back. I know the time you're having with her…I'm here to…," she shook her head, "God, why is begging so hard? How do people do it?"

"You're here to…beg?" Kyle was shocked.

"Beg for the chance to be with you. You're not with Amanda right now," she told him, "So come on. We're the same; you said so many times before. So…let's just get away from this pretense of your "undying love" for Amanda, and get this going. You and I are much better together. I think this morning proved that once again."

"But I'm with Amanda!" he ran a hand through his hair, "I can't be with you!"

"You can," she said, grabbing his shoulders, looking into his eyes, "Amanda got rid of you! Come on! You and I…give us a chance! Kyle, I want this more than I've ever wanted anything else! I get what I want."

_Even though I love Amanda, she as much told me to move on, if only for a short time, until we can come back together. Jessi could be here to see that I do as Amanda said we should, but she only suggested it, didn't demand it._

_ But yet…_

He gazed into Jessi's eyes, her eyes staring back into his. It was as if they could look into each other's souls. They could feel each other, not only through touch, but into the soul through their touch.

And then it began. He moved in, forcefully applying his lips to hers. She kissed him back with the same intensity, their hands all over each other. They were both pushing against each other, staggering around the room in a passionate, volatile embrace of affection, wrong, but right.

They broke their kiss and rejoined it, knocking into Kyle's desk, knocking a lamp over. They moved more, both of them moving the other for a certain distance before the other could gain the strength to move the former aggressor. They were both aggressors here, both acting like animals, giving into their greatest impulses, their sexual desires. Jessi truly had feelings for Kyle, while he had feelings for her, but deep down, they gave into sexual urges, desires, more than their feelings for each other.

Their feelings were fueling the passion, as were their urges, their lusts.

They crashed into the door, making Declan on the other side jump back a bit. He pushed his ear to the door, listening, having heard bits, and was able to piece it together at this point.

"No Kyle…no…" He didn't like the idea of history repeating itself, of Kyle making himself lose Amanda, the woman he loved. He wanted Kyle to be happy, and knew this wasn't Kyle's happiness.

The two continued on like animals in their wild passion, kissing, running hands across each other's chests and backs. They collapsed into his tub, just big enough for the two of them. They writhed around on the inside, being on the sides, then top and bottom, continuing on with no end to their passion which seemed to have taken a life of its own.

_Amanda. I love her, but I…I…I also love Jessi. Amanda is pure and innocent, while Jessi has the darker soul, the darker existence which is like mine. Amanda is like me, but Jessi is my opposite. There's no wonder this is how things are going, that I'm in love with both of them._

Their wild passion continued, and would continue, as long as they could both go. For Kyle and Jessi, their passion – never crossing a line – could and possibly would go on for another hour straight, unending.

[Song ends]


	6. All Roads Lead to Nowhere

6: All Roads Lead to Nowhere

_What had I just done? Here I lie in my tub, with Jessi in my arms, yet all I want to think of is Amanda. She means almost everything to me; on par with the Trager family, yet here I am with Jessi instead._

_ Amanda is a pure, honest soul, while Jessi is a darker, more complex soul, more like my own. Is that what has drawn me here, away from the woman I want to be destined to be with? It's a complex path; this road I'm on leads to nowhere with Jessi, because I want my road with Amanda to lead somewhere better._

"Jessi, you have to go," Kyle told her as the clock struck noon.

She had her head against his chest. She looked up into his eyes, "Why?"

_It was a simple question. Why should she leave? Was I just stringing her along? That's not the type of person I am, so why should I have her leave? A part of me wants her; a part of me believes that she is the only woman I could ever truly be with, as she is the only one like me. But I can't let that happen, not with my love for Amanda._

"I'm sorry, I don't have a real answer for you," he told her.

She sat up, "You're thinking about Amanda, aren't you?" she demanded. When he didn't give her a quick answer, she got out of his tub and walked towards the window, "You know, Kyle, I thought that we might have something here. I thought you might be over Amanda and finally come to your senses; come to me. But I can see that I was wrong."

"No, Jessi, that's not it," he said, sitting up and getting out of the tub, "Jessi, listen,"

"No, you listen," she told him, turning towards him, "I'm the only person in this world who's like you. Do you really think that Amanda could ever truly understand you? Ever truly be the woman you should be with? No! I am! I'm the only person who can ever truly understand you, Kyle. I mean, look at it! Can you tell Amanda about the clones? No! Who can you tell? Me. We just went on that mission! We're bonded in another, stronger way, Kyle. We should extend that bond."

"I can't hurt Amanda by being with you," he told her.

"Hurt Amanda? Are you joking? She basically dumped you, Kyle!"

"No!" he shouted, "That's not true! I refuse to let that be true!"

"Oh, you refuse?" she questioned, "You're smart, Kyle. Don't fool yourself."

"I haven't lost her," Kyle refused to give up on that.

"Oh, yeah, we'll see. You've lost her, Kyle. I know that," with that, Jessi opened the window and stepped out, slamming it shut behind her and running off.

Kyle ran over, throwing the window open, "Jessi!" he shouted after her, but she didn't hear, or didn't stop if she had.

He closed the window and put his head in his hands.

_What have I just done? Perhaps Jessi is right, and the only person who can truly understand me is her; a person the same as me. Maybe I'm being naïve, thinking that I can still be with Amanda, that we can still have a productive future together. But I can't give up on my first love._

* * *

><p>Amanda opened the door at the sound of a knock, seeing Kyle standing there.<p>

"Kyle…this is a surprise," she said, "Do you want to come in?"

"I don't need much time," he told her, "If you want to step out."

"Yeah," she stepped outside and closed the door, "What is it you need?"

"I…I need to know where we stand," he said, "I'd be willing to tell you anything, if it would help. I…I just need to know that we have a future, Amanda."

"I…I can't tell you that," she said, "Because honestly, I don't know myself."

"You don't know?"

"I don't," she said, "I don't know if I'd be willing to take you back again. I don't know if we could work well together or not. I…I just don't know, Kyle. I'm sorry."

He nodded solemnly, "I understand."

"Do you?"

_No._

"Yes."

She nodded slowly, "Ok then. If you're ok, Kyle, then…do you need anything else?"

_You._

"No," he said, shaking his head.

"Ok," she nodded, turning around and opening the door, walking back inside her house and closing the door, leaving Kyle standing out front.

He turned and walked away from the house, but he didn't want to go back home yet. He didn't want to go out looking for Jessi, he couldn't go to Amanda, he didn't want to go home. Where could he go?

As he started to walk in the opposite direction from home, he looked up at the sound of clapping.

"Nice job, brother," Cassidy told him, "You know, if I were you, I don't know if I could stand there and lie to such a beautiful, innocent girl like that, like you just did. If I had been you, I'd have told her the truth."

"What do you want?" Kyle demanded.

"To talk," Cassidy said.

"Fine, if we're going to talk, then let me do the questioning this time. Let me do the role you usually take."

"Fine," Cassidy said.

Kyle walked closer to him, "How can you be so evil? How could you threaten my loved ones?" Kyle demanded, "How can you be like this, when I'm the way I am?"

Cassidy had a small smirk on his face, "Come now, Kyle," he walked closer, walking past Kyle, their backs to each other as he continued to speak, "are you so naïve that you think that the fact that we share half our blood, half our genetic information, means we should both be good, upstanding people?

"I'm a good man, Kyle, if you would give me the chance. You think that just because I'm not the saint, the hero, that you are, I'm a bad man. You called me 'evil', after all."

"You threatened my loved ones, like I said," Kyle said.

"So I did. But it's all for the greater good," Cassidy told him.

Kyle turned to face him, "Greater good?" he practically shouted, "How can that be for any sort of 'greater good'?"

Cassidy turned to look at him, "You see, it's because you're so narrow minded in your perception of 'good', that you overlook what Latnok can do for the world."

"I saw your computer program," Kyle said, "I saw the good in it, but I know it was for getting into my brain."

"You destroyed something that could have come to such great use," Cassidy said.

"Are you trying to guilt me? I do feel guilty, Cassidy, but not guilty enough to fold on your perceptions."

Cassidy shrugged, "Even without that program, we still have the C.I.R."

"Not for long."

"Are you saying you're planning on taking out the machine?" Cassidy questioned, walking towards Kyle, "You really do have guts if you want to try that, considering the security that it's under."

"I have people to help me," Kyle said.

A larger smirk came to Cassidy's face, "Look at you, Kyle Trager; a terrorist in his own right."

"Terrorist?"

"You break into a private clinic, destroy a program that can save lives and mentalities, and now you're planning on breaking into another facility and destroying a machine that could possibly replace the MRI as the next medical breakthrough, once we release a modified C.I.R. out into the medical field."

"You're making things up," Kyle said.

"You underestimate Latnok," Cassidy said, "We do actually do things that are good, as you would see them. This is one. You just refuse to see it because of your bias against us."

"I refuse to see it because it doesn't exist!"

Cassidy shook his head, "Kyle, do you really think so little of your older brother?"

"You are not my brother!" Kyle shouted at him.

"Think that if you wish," Cassidy shrugged it off.

"I've already told you everything about what being brothers is about. How you become a brother. You refuse to listen to it."

"You refuse to believe in cold hard facts," Cassidy shot back, "Tell me something, Kyle, how does it feel to not like your blood family? How does it feel to know that they only want to extend love out to you, and you refuse them in favor of a family that has nothing to do with you?"

"The Tragers have everything to do with me," Kyle told him, "I accept Adam Baylin, but not you, nor Grace Kingsley."

"Call her our mother," Cassidy said, "She prefers that."

"She is not my mother!" Kyle screamed at him.

Cassidy shrugged and walked past Kyle, "Fine, think what you wish. Just remember a few things; I will get the information. I will become mum's favorite. I will get back at you one way or another."

"What do you mean by 'favorite'?" questioned Kyle.

"Mum always talks about you, and what you can do," Cassidy said, "You would know that, if you would come to Latnok."

"You're jealous, aren't you?"

"No."

"This time I know you're lying."

"I was hoping you'd pick up on that," Cassidy told him, turning to look Kyle right in the eyes, "I wanted to see if you could get something else correct."

"What?"

"I'll have the information by the end of the day."

"You believe it to be true."

Cassidy reached into the breast pocket of his shirt, pulling out the small tazer device. Before Kyle could react, Cassidy fired, bringing Kyle down to his knees, gasping, choking, trying to draw breath, but failing.

"One model has the strength to render unconsciousness. One has the ability to simply induce pain. This is made just for you; to target the heart specifically. The shock type disrupts the beat of the heart, for one. Two, it also hits at the brain and central nervous system. Three…it yields me the answers I want."

Kyle was slipping from his knees, falling to the ground, seizing from the electrical outburst. His heart was resuming beating, as the only purpose of taking his heart out was to bring him down for a moment. His brain; the seizures. That was the main goal.

"Now, Kyle, I win," Cassidy said, pocketing his weapon and walking off, leaving Kyle to seize on the sidewalk.

* * *

><p>It had all been a blur for the Tragers and Amanda as they had heard the ambulances come when someone driving by had seen Kyle lying on the sidewalk and seizing. The Tragers had gone and brought Amanda at her insistence to the hospital.<p>

"God, not here, not again," Lori was saying, burying her face into her hands, "Not after what happened to mom."

"I know," Stephen told his daughter, putting a hand reassuringly on her back, "But Kyle's strong. He should be able to get over this."

"Come on, dad," Josh told him, sitting on his other side, "What's the extent of the damage? You and mom won't tell us anything! I think we have a right to know!"

Amanda was on his side, completely opposite of Lori, "Mr. Trager, Josh is right. We all love Kyle; we deserve to know what the doctors told you and Mrs. Trager."

Stephen stood up and looked at his two children and Amanda. Nicole was talking to the doctors again, leaving Stephen to take care of the three of them. He looked at them for about ten seconds before stating, "The doctors don't think it's very good. His heart is damaged somehow, and he's known to have seizures. This isn't a surprise, but it could be indicative of some new damage of some sort. I…I don't know what that means; I'm not a doctor."

"This is just great," Lori said, standing up, "We all have something good happening. Declan and me; Josh and Andy, you got a raise, mom is going back into her practice," they had been told what Kyle had known while he and Jessi had been in his room, "And Kyle?"

"I'm to blame," Amanda said quietly.

"No, I didn't mean it that way!" Lori insisted.

"I know you don't mean to blame me," Amanda told Lori, "But it is my fault, at least partially. I broke Kyle's heart, after all. Maybe if we were still properly together…"

"Don't blame yourself," Lori told the other girl.

"I don't think any of us can be to blame," Stephen said.

"Or all of us," Josh said, "I was having him help me with things. Did you guys ask him to do anything?"

"I don't think a work load caused this," Amanda told Josh.

"His heart was damaged…I was asking him to help me with getting in touch with Andy. You broke his heart…"

"Josh!" Stephen yelled at him.

"No, Mr. Trager, it's ok," Amanda told him, looking down, "I see where Josh is going with this, but I don't think that's right. And Josh…you don't know the whole story."

"Then why don't you tell us?"

"Josh, not here, not now," Lori told her brother, "If you really want to lash out, do it at someone or something worthwhile. Amanda didn't do anything."

Josh got up from his chair. He started to walk off, "Where do you think you're going?" Stephen questioned him.

"Just to walk around," Josh said, "I'll clear my head before I come back to avoid a lecture," he said, leaving.

"Are you just going to let him go like that?" Amanda questioned Stephen.

"Yeah. It's for the best." He sat back down.

As Josh was leaving the waiting room area, he saw Jessi walking in, then running towards him, "I heard Kyle was here, is he ok?"

"He's had some heart damage and a seizure," Josh said, "I don't know much more."

She pushed past him rather than stay and waste her time learning nothing. She came to a slow when she saw Stephen, Lori and Amanda, "What happened to him?" she questioned.

"What are you doing here?" Amanda questioned her, despite knowing the severity of the situation; she was jealous and wanted answers.

"I care about Kyle."

"We all do," Stephen tried to mediate them.

Amanda got up, "Jessi, just tell me. What do you hope to accomplish here?"

"I'm going to be by his side. He may have told me to leave this afternoon after everything, but…"

"What?" Amanda questioned, "What are you talking about? After what?"

"We spent the morning together in his room," she said, taking no pleasure at the moment in torturing Amanda, just stating the facts.

Amanda fell back into her chair, "What? No! I won't believe that!"

"I never saw or heard you come in," Lori told her.

"Yeah, me neither," Stephen agreed.

"His window," Jessi said, "Anyway, what happened?"

"I think you need to tell us," Lori said.

Josh had decided to follow Jessi back, "Well, isn't it obvious?" he questioned, "She and Kyle…got it on, and that caused his heart attack, or whatever, leading into…"

"Josh!" Amanda snapped, clearly upset over what could have happened between Kyle and Jessi.

"Nothing like that happened," Jessi said.

"How can we trust you?" Amanda questioned.

"Because I'm only looking out for Kyle's best interests," Jessi said, "I can see I'm not wanted here, though."

Josh stepped aside as she walked back the way she had come from. She knew these people; she knew that they were friends, technically, but perhaps too much had been said about what she and Kyle had done, even if they hadn't slept together, it sounded like it. They were carrying on behind everyone's backs, and they didn't seem to appreciate that, especially not Stephen, with it happening in his home, and not Amanda, who was horrified since she and Kyle were technically together, even if they were separated at the moment.

As she was heading towards the entrance of the hospital, she heard Nicole, "Jessi! Where are you going?" She left speaking to the doctor, evidently just trying to busy herself until she had seen Jessi, missing her on her way in.

"I was leaving," she told Nicole, "Your family and Amanda don't seem to like me being here."

"Why not? You came for Kyle's sake, after all, right?" Nicole asked.

"I did. But they don't like me because Kyle and I started something this morning," she saw no reason to hide it from Nicole; blunt was the best approach.

"What does that mean?" Nicole questioned her.

"Not much, apparently, since he told me to leave after we made out for a while," she said, "At first it felt right, then it felt like he was reconsidering, and…"

"Too much information," Nicole told her.

"They seem to think we slept together. Or at the least, they don't want me around because we did everything behind your backs."

"While I don't approve of that, you clearly care about Kyle very much. You have a right to stay."

"I don't."

"You do."

"So…what happened to him?" Jessi questioned.

"The doctors don't know," Nicole replied, "All we know is that he has some heart damage, possibly from a heart attack, and had some seizures. He's not in very good shape right now…"

"Even both of those hitting at the same time shouldn't be too much of a problem for someone like Kyle," she said, "He should be able to recover, even if not aware. At least, I think we should be able to…"

"He's had seizures before and never done that," Nicole said, "I know you can heal, but can you heal yourselves like that?"

"He's more experienced now than before. And we should be able to heal ourselves," Jessi said.

"Let's hope he can pull something off," Nicole said.

"Or do it yourselves."

Jessi and Nicole turned to see Cassidy walking in, flowers in hand. He handed them over, "I'm sorry about my dear little brother."

"Cassidy!" Jessi hissed, pushing Nicole aside, ready to leap for Cassidy and kill him for all he had done thus far.

"Ah, ah, no. Bad Jessi. You try anything and this deal is off the table."

"Deal?" questioned Jessi, "What sort of deal could you possibly have?"

"One that could save his life," Cassidy answered.

"Jessi," Nicole said, holding her hand out in front of Jessi, "What are you talking about?" she questioned Cassidy.

"I mean, you get me what I want, and I can help you. I know the damage to his heart; I can also tell you that if he would get an MRI, his score would be normal, even if he's 'fixed'. Yes, I did this. If you let him try to recover on his own, or with your help, Jessi, he's doomed to live a normal life, losing everything he has.

"However, if you listen to me, I can help you. I'll help fix his heart and his brain, allowing him to continue to be the man he is. He can still help people; he can still do whatever he is doing now. What happens is that you feel a little guilty, but happy for him to continue living his life, and I get some…information. Some hard data."

"Hard data?" Nicole asked.

"You want the clone formula, don't you?" Jessi demanded.

"Correct."

"We don't have it," Jessi said, "Only Kyle does."

"I realize that. That's why I had to do this to him," Cassidy said, "You have to dive into his brain, Jessi, and get it for me."

"Why would we ever do that for you?" Jessi demanded, clearly not going to do it.

"Because if you don't, Kyle is doomed to have a normal life and existence."

"So be it," Jessi said, "He'd want that over the alternative."

Cassidy shook his head, "That's if he survives. The 'if' in that equation favors his death over his recovery. He has a slim chance of about five percent to pull through, if you want the numbers.

"You see, you're in no position to bargain. You get me the information, or he will die, most likely. And if he lives, he'll wish he died. I don't think Kyle could appreciate living normally, not with the way he lives life, trying to help people. His powers are what makes it possible for him. Disobey, and he survives, he loses the knowledge of how to do things, as well as the ability in itself as his brain is damaged irrevocably."

Nicole grabbed Jessi's arm to stop her from trying anything. Then she spoke to the younger woman, "Jessi, we have to consider his offer."

"But Nicole! We can't!"

"I know. I know we can't, but the alternative of Kyle dying? That's worse! We have to consider! We should do this, for Kyle's sake!"

"I refuse," Jessi growled.

"You'd let Kyle die?" demanded Nicole.

Jessi remained silent for a bit, trying to think of life without Kyle. She shook her head, "This agreement never gets out to anyone other than the three of us."

"I don't intend on gloating," Cassidy told Jessi, "Now, you have to go and pick Kyle's brain for us."

"You never tell Kyle, never tell the family, never tell anyone," Jessi told Nicole, "Swear that!"

"I swear. You can't either."

"I won't," Jessi said.

"I won't," Cassidy said, just trying to be part of the situation.

"You have a deal," Jessi muttered, defeated for now. "How are you going to save him?"

"The slime," he replied, "It will work on his heart by soaking through his flesh and into his bloodstream. As for his brain, well, fixing the heart should get him back up and out of danger. His head will come down to you, Jessi."

"We could make our own slime," she told him.

"I'm sure you could," he replied, "I'm sure you're smart enough to have studied it at any chance you might have gotten, God knows when, but this slime is a different formula, meant for entering the body through contact with the skin, and repairing internal injuries and damage to tissue. You'd be out of your depth, never having seen a sample."

Jessi had no choice but to nod, knowing he was right. She left the two of them without a word, rushing towards where Kyle's room would be.

She had something terrible to do.

* * *

><p>"Declan!" Lori got up and ran to him as he came in, holding her in his arms to comfort her.<p>

"Sorry it took so long," he said. He had left after that morning at the Tragers and had just gotten a call from Lori about what had happened, "How is he?"

"We don't know much," Lori said, "Mom's talking to the doctors to find out, but she's not back yet."

He backed off from the hug he gave her, "I'm going to go and see if I can find her. I'll see what she has to say."

"Thanks, Declan," Lori told him, "Hurry back."

"Yeah, I will," he turned and headed back the way he had come, seeing Nicole after getting back towards the entrance, "Mrs. Trager," he said.

She turned to him, looking shaken, worried, "Oh, Declan. You're here too?"

"Lori called me," he said, calling her by name to her mother, "Um…how is he? What happened?"

Why did she look so shaken? So worried? Was the news that bad?

"He has some damage to his heart from a heart attack, or something, and had a seizure at the same time. The combination isn't good."

"I imagine," he replied, "How does it look for him, though? Can the doctors help?"

She took a moment before answering, a very noticeable moment, "There's a good chance he'll recover and be perfectly fine. A very good chance."

"That's surprising," Declan said.

"I know," she said, "But they say they can do it. I have to trust them."

Declan nodded, "I guess you're right." He pointed back over his shoulder, "So…I'm going to go tell everyone else what's happening."

Nicole nodded, "Yeah, go."

As Declan walked off, he ducked into a small hallway that led to restrooms. He took out his phone, "Foss. Kyle ended up in the hospital; bad damage to his heart and some seizures, but they say it can be helped; he'll be fine, the doctors say. Call me back." He closed his phone and continued to the others, telling them what Nicole had said to him.

"Thank God," Lori said, "He'll be fine."

"He's lucky," Amanda said quietly, "I…I wouldn't think anyone else would be fine after what happened. Damage like that. He really does seem lucky."

"He's Kyle," Josh said, "He has those powers to help him recover."

"Let's just remember that it's not set in stone that he'll recover completely," Stephen told the four younger people with him, "We have to be ready if…if something goes wrong. I don't want that to happen, but we have to be ready for the possibility."

"Yeah, we know," Lori told him, "We…we just don't want to have to think of that chance."

"I know," Stephen said, "God knows I know."

* * *

><p>Jessi closed Kyle's door softly and walked over to the unmoving man. He was hooked up to many machines, but it didn't seem that any were for anything specific to him, other than some readings being done on his brainwaves after the seizure. Other than that, everything was common. It disgusted her to see that they didn't seem to care more, but she wasn't the type to know if there were other machines that could be hooked up to him to help him, or do anything for him.<p>

He was special. He deserved better, if it existed.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, reaching down and touching his forehead in both hands. She closed her eyes, reaching out, feeling for his mind. It was damaged from the seizures; or maybe rattled. Perhaps when Cassidy helped him his mind would return to proper order. If it was damaged by Cassidy's doing, then he wouldn't be pleased if he lost the information that he wanted. But why would he take that risk?

Clearly this was probably only a momentary jumble. Cassidy wouldn't risk losing his prize.

Sifting through Kyle's memories proved to be a disturbing and difficult task. Jessi saw all sorts of things. He saw memories of Kyle being with Amanda, with the Tragers, and more with Amanda. Even things that hadn't happened, including a wedding. Clearly Kyle truly loved Amanda.

Jessi fought back that pain and continued to look. She saw bits of herself in Kyle's mind, but nothing as substantial as what she saw of Amanda. Clearly he held Amanda in higher regard than he held her.

Then she got to data, facts. She sifted through these bits of memory, finally finding what looked to be right, if only because it was pushed back so far, so hidden, but the jumble had brought it out towards the front. The C.I.R. could have easily gotten it, if Cassidy could have gotten Kyle to it, but he would have trouble smuggling him out of the hospital. He needed Jessi.

Taking grip of it, she brought it out farther, then managed to read the data over, memorizing all of it from a single read. She let it go and pulled away from Kyle, the information in her mind, ready to be given to Cassidy.

* * *

><p>"Nice doing business with you," Cassidy told Jessi and Nicole, handing over a small hypodermic needle filled with a thick purple colored liquid. He took the sheets of paper from Jessi, reading over the data, "I'm a trusting man," he said to them, "I'm no scientist, so I'll assume this is right. If it's not right, then you'll both pay, along with Kyle." Cassidy pocketed the papers and walked out the front door, "Good day."<p>

Jessi and Nicole looked at the liquid in the needle, "Do you think he gave us the right stuff?" Nicole asked worriedly, "I don't know if I trust him."

"You can't trust him," Jessi said, "But we have to hope he's a man of enough honor that he gave us the right stuff. Let's try."

The two went to Kyle's room when no doctors were around to watch. Jessi looked at the needle, then looked back to Nicole, "Into the heart," Nicole said.

She nodded, "I wonder if the doctors will find this mark," she said, then shrugged. It didn't matter. She pulled the blanket off of Kyle and plunged the needle into his heart, injecting the liquid. She pulled the empty needle out, watching the liquid surge up and seal the hole. They both stood back, watching his vital signs begin to rise and strengthen.

"It worked," Nicole said.

"We should get the others," Jessi said, "Go get them."

Nicole nodded, "Yeah," she ran out to get the others, but by the time she would come back, Jessi would be gone.

["How to Save a Life" by The Fray, .com/watch?v=hOStF4q0zZI]

Kyle's eyes slowly opened. He looked around, seeing the faces of Amanda, Lori, Josh, Declan, Stephen and Nicole. He sat up slowly, "What happened?"

"You had some heart damage and seizures," Nicole told him softly, "It looked bad for a bit, but you recovered completely."

"We were so afraid for you," Lori was almost crying.

Josh was trying to hold it back, "I don't know what we would have done if we had lost you."

"I knew you would be fine," Declan said, "You're strong; a fighter."

Amanda reached out to him, "Kyle…you made me think a lot about what's happened between us. I don't know what would happen if I ever lost you. I can't think about that."

"None of us know what we would have done if we lost you. You're family," Stephen said, "Always. Never forget that you have people here to love you."

_And with that I realized that it didn't matter what Cassidy was like, what Grace Kingsly was like. They may have been my family by blood, but it didn't matter. I know that family is those who love you, who accept you unconditionally. The Tragers give me unconditional love, I've known that. I continue to know that. I won't have to think about my blood family again, because I know they don't matter._

_ But if Cassidy persists, my memories will persist. Those thoughts will always be there, but they won't be important anymore. I know that now._

"…Thank you, everyone," Kyle said, "You don't know how much your love means to me. You really don't."

"Let's leave him to get some rest," Nicole suggested to everyone. They started to leave, reluctantly at first, but soon began to leave faster, leaving Amanda and Nicole as the last two in the room with him.

"Kyle…I mean it," Amanda said, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Do you forgive me for keeping my secrets?" he asked her.

"No. But I'm willing to overlook it."

_This was my chance to be back with Amanda. To truly be with her again. But something was off about this. Did I want her back, even if she was only doing it because I almost died today?_

"Then I don't want to get back together," Kyle said, to both women's astonishments.

"Kyle…why?" Amanda asked him, flustered.

"If you just want to get back together because I almost died, then we aren't ready to get back together. I would do anything to get back with you, but if you're willing to compromise your own beliefs, your own words like this, then not yet."

"I understand," she said quietly. She said nothing more as she left, hurt by his words.

"Kyle…"

"Nicole…I know. I shouldn't have said that, but I had to," he told Nicole.

She nodded, "I understand why you had to. But you worried all of us; and you just hurt Amanda for the second time today, the first being that she had to go through everything you here."

"Third," Kyle said, "Is Jessi here?"

"She was."

"Then I'm sure she said something to Amanda," Kyle didn't explain anything more to Nicole.

"Get some rest," Nicole told Kyle, leaving his room.

As Kyle laid back, he heard the door open again. He sat up to see Jessi, "Kyle," she said softly.

"Jessi…"

All she could say was, "I'm glad you're ok."

"Thank you."

She was having trouble finding words. She walked forward a bit closer, "Kyle…I saw Amanda leave, and…"

"I wasn't ready to get back together with her yet," Kyle explained.

"What about you and me?" Jessi asked, "Are we…"

"No," Kyle said, "I can't be with either of you. Not now, not yet."

She nodded, not saying everything she had to say, "Ok. I won't give up on you."

"Neither will Amanda, I'm sure," he told her.

"I know." Jessi looked back at the door, then to Kyle again, "I'm determined to be the woman with you."

"We'll see what happens," Kyle said.

She nodded, "We will." She headed out, leaving Kyle alone in the bed.

[Song ends]

Nicole pulled Jessi away as she left. They stood off to the side, "Did you tell him?" she questioned Jessi, "You look…"

"I wanted to," she said, "I'm not the type to get guilty or anything, but…"

"You couldn't sit there and not tell him," Nicole said, "I know. I felt the same way. I wanted to tell him what we had to do. I can't lie to him; I can't keep the truth from him. But we have to."

Jessi nodded, "It would be hell if he found out what we had to do for him."

"But at least he's alive."

"Only thanks to the two of us betraying him, and to Cassidy. Kyle won't like that, any of it."

"We have to make sure he never finds out," Nicole said, "I know that it's going to be hard for both of us, but we have to keep strong and not tell him."

"Yeah," Jessi said, "We'll find ways of dealing with it, of smothering it."

"That's not going to be good for either of us," Nicole said.

"You're a therapist, I know," Jessi said, "But what else can we do?"

"Unfortunately…nothing," Nicole said.

"Then we're bonded by this secret." Jessi started to walk away, "We can never tell anyone this."

Nicole watched her go, then looked in the window inset into Kyle's door. She watched him try to rest, and after a few moments, she walked away in shame of what she and Jessi had to do.


	7. Thicker Than Blood

7: Thicker Than Blood

_I sat on death's door after what Cassidy did to me, but I was able to recover. I don't know how, and even looking over everything, it seems to be nothing short of a miracle that I recovered as well as I did. I know that, I want to question it, but at the same time I don't. I feel that I must, but if I do, then I might not be able to explain what happened._

_ As a man who roots himself down with science and facts, a miracle is a hard thing to explain. Yet things such as childbirth and love can be described as miracles, despite being easily explained things. But for some reason, I feel that even if I looked into it, I'd find no answers, and get none from anyone who might know. The doctors said as much, because they didn't know what happened either._

_ As I laid in that bed, I almost felt as though I wished I had died. It would have hurt less dying than what I had to say to Amanda. I wish I hadn't had to have said those things to her, but that is how I feel. I can't be with her again, not yet. Not under these circumstances alone. I hope she understands that._

_ As will Jessi, for why I can't be with her._

_ I know Cassidy is my enemy. He, like Latnok, must be stopped. But I want to know how someone can do something like that to their own blood, even if our blood is so thin. How could he, if he's the one who constantly brings up our semi-shared parentage? I know he doesn't like me, but why would he try to kill me, of all things? How could he?_

_ I try to bury it deep, but I do know that I almost killed him. I still don't understand how I could nearly do that. How could he? How can anyone take a life? Especially of someone related to them? Besides, doesn't Grace Kingsly want me alive? For the clone information in my brain?_

Kyle was supposed to be resting, but he couldn't sit around and do that. He was out of his tub, just trying to keep busy. He shouldn't be pushing himself, but yet he was doing pushups on the floor, trying to gauge his heart. It felt perfectly fine, along with his entire body.

How had he recovered this well? His heart shouldn't be this strong. Not yet. How was it working so well?

He got to his feet and walked to the window, looking outside. The day was dark, as a storm was expected. He remembered the last time it had stormed; he had seen Cassidy's face at his window. He hadn't liked that. He hoped that it would lighten up, lest memories flash back to him.

* * *

><p>"How can you be doing this?" Cassidy demanded over his cellphone. He was in his office, no longer sitting, having risen to his feet in outrage, "I gave you the information! It's all there, isn't it?"<p>

A pause.

"…I'm sorry for my outburst," he muttered an apology, "But…is it all there?"

Pause.

"Good. I'm glad the data was accurate. I also apologize in advance for how I obtained it. …I will tell you how I did it, just not yet."

A long pause again.

"I had to put Kyle's life in danger in order to obtain the data!" Cassidy defended himself, "I'm sorry I had to go against orders like that, but we have it, and Kyle's fine! I had it all planned out."

A pause once more.

"You underestimate your firstborn, mum," he said, "I knew what I was doing. I knew how to fix things. I knew who to go to to get the information. And I got the information. Kyle was healed. He's fine. I succeeded! Take off your blinders for once, mum, and look at me as a competent, willing man! You may hold me in regard as the second best, as your worst son, but I did well! I did the job that no other could do! I did everything right! It all worked out!"

One final pause.

"How…how can you do that, mum?" he demanded, "…Fine. Just remember something, mum. I am the one who's loyal to you. Not Kyle. He will never be loyal to you! Only I will be!"

Then the other line went dead as he was hung up on.

Cassidy threw his cellphone at the door and dropped into his chair. He heard a knock on his door.

"Come!"

Nate opened the door slowly, noticing the phone on the floor, "What? Bad call?"

"It's none of your concern, Nate," Cassidy hissed, "What is it that you want?"

"I wanted to get an update on things," he said.

"What things?" Cassidy questioned.

Nate shrugged, "Well, you haven't had me do anything for a while. I mean, I didn't even get to work on that software that you had made to get at Kyle's brain! I need some assignment, or what point is there to me being 'promoted' if I don't have any work?"

Cassidy pushed his chair out as he abruptly rose, "Look, Nate, I don't care what you do with your time. I really don't care! Now, do you want to do something? You can get out of my office, and get out of my sight! I don't care about you or your problems, you insignificant little worm!"

Nate backed away at Cassidy's outburst. He reached behind him for the door, "Yeah…ok, I'll come back later," he muttered under his breath, "When you don't have a stick up your ass."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Nate said, ducking out as fast as he could.

Cassidy fell back into his chair, putting his head in his hands. How could his mother do this? How could she take everything he had succeeded in doing, and yet show him no appreciation? It was only because of him that they were getting anywhere.

Cassidy reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a handgun. He hated guns, though he did quite enjoy using the electrical weapons that had been developed by Latnok. They weren't meant to kill, rather just to stop. For torture. It was a weapon that he could use to get himself farther ahead, and not incur the wrath of his mother, as it couldn't kill Kyle when he used it on that man.

But this. This could kill. This would kill. He turned it over in his hand, considering going to the Trager home and killing Kyle. They had what they needed, after all. And the serum that he had given Jessi had worked, so that was a success. Now that he survived, maybe it was time to kill him.

Make himself the favorite by being the only one left. But his mother would resent him for killing Kyle. Her favorite child, even if she had never met him.

"What should I do with you?" he muttered, looking at the gun, then he decided to put it away.

Not now. Not yet, anyway.

* * *

><p>There was a knock at the door. Nicole went to answer it, opening it to see a woman standing there, a few years older than her, wearing business-like clothing, with a cold demeanor about herself, her eyes trying to appear warm, however. She had coarse, black hair that went a bit below her shoulders, a bit wavy.<p>

"Can I help you?" Nicole asked her.

"I'm here to see Kyle," she said in a distinctly British accent.

"Kyle?" Nicole asked, "What business would you have with him?"

Slight wisps of a smile came to her face, "I have probably the most important business with him that he has had yet. That he may ever have. I am his mother, and I am here to take him home."

"His mother?" Nicole questioned critically, "How…how can you be his mother if he…"

"I guess he hasn't said everything there is to say," Grace replied, "May I come in?"

"Kyle!" Nicole called, stepping aside to allow this woman in, ignorant of all of the facts, or she wouldn't have let her inside.

Kyle was coming into the hall, "Nicole?" His eyes went to Grace Kinsgly. He didn't need to know her name to know who she was, "Grace Kingsly…"

"I can see that you know who I am just by feeling," she told him.

"I don't know how," he replied.

"A son feeling his mother. That's all it is," she said.

"I am not your son!" he shouted at her.

"Oh, but you are," she replied, "I still haven't had an invitation to come in," she told Nicole.

Nicole allowed her to come inside, "We…we need to settle some things," Nicole said, "Please, come in."

"You're here to take me away, aren't you?" Kyle demanded.

"Now, now, Kyle. This isn't the place to be talking of such things," Grace said, "We shouldn't have to stand in the middle of a hall to speak to each other."

"That's all you're getting from me," Kyle hissed to her, "I refuse to speak to you. I refuse to do anything for you!"

"For your own mother?" she questioned, "Kyle, you should listen to everything."

"I don't care about everything," he told her, "I don't care about anything you have to say to me!"

"Even about Adam?"

"He would have told me anything I needed to know," he told her, "Leave. Now!"

"Now, now, Kyle. I'm not going anywhere. Not without my son with me," she said.

"Wait, you're not taking him anywhere," Nicole said, "Not unless he wants to go."

Grace looked to Nicole, "I don't like standing here and speaking to you two like this. Let us sit and discuss things. With your entire family. Then you should see things my way, and let me take my son, whom you have been so kind as to raise for me while I could not."

Before Nicole could come up with any response, Grace walked towards Kyle. He backed away from her, against the wall, just afraid of her for some reason. She walked past him, going towards the kitchen. Nicole came to Kyle's side.

"We need to get rid of her," Kyle said angrily.

"I don't like her either, but we should hear her out," Nicole said.

He turned to her, "You actually want to listen?"

"We're not going to let her take you away from us," Nicole assured him, "But we would like to know what she has to say. I'm sure we all would. Even you."

"I don't care what she has to say," he said, "Cassidy is her other son. Cassidy is the man who threatened everyone I love. I don't care what that woman has to say! She has to leave, now!"

"I can see how much you don't like her, how much it pains you to see her here, but knowledge is power, Kyle. Knowledge of the situation could be useful. And maybe you'll learn something that you might need to know."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. But maybe you will learn something."

"I doubt it," he said, "I just want her gone. The longer she's here, the more danger everyone is in. She's Latnok, therefore she's the enemy. Not only is she a member, but she seems to be one of the heads. We can't let her be here!"

"I'm sorry Kyle, but she is going to be here," Nicole said, "I can't stand to see one of my children hurting, but it might be even worse if we force her to leave without saying anything."

_I could see the wisdom in Nicole's words. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. But could this really be anything but trouble, letting Grace Kingsly be here? I don't think so. She can only be here for terrible reasons. I'm certain of that._

* * *

><p>The family was gathered around the table, sitting together, with Grace Kinsgly sitting there as well, but away from them. It would look to anyone who didn't know the situation as obviously the family and an outsider.<p>

"So…you're saying you're Kyle's mother," Stephen said, "How…how is that even possible?"

"Yeah," Josh chimed in, "Clones don't have mothers. At least, that would defeat the point of cloning, wouldn't it?"

"I'm not–," Kyle began.

"Let me," Grace said, "I can possibly explain it better. He's not a complete clone. He does look exactly like Adam Baylin, and could be mistaken as a clone, that is for sure. But he's not a pure clone. He has the genetic information of Adam Baylin as the primary code in his genetics, while I provided an egg for Adam's sperm. I play a small role in Kyle's genetics, but a role none-the-less. I didn't birth him; no. He was a test-tube baby, then placed and developed in the serum created by Adam. He was developed with in it, rather than a womb.

"He has my genetics, none-the-less. My blood, as he does Adam's. Adam's genes are the primary genes, with mine mostly pushed aside so that Kyle would be just like Adam, as it was believed that his mind would better be able to develop if it was like Adam's in almost every way. So my genes were suppressed to the point where they almost don't exist inside of Kyle. But he is still my son.

"Blood is blood, no matter how thin."

"Your real son likes to say that to me," Kyle growled at her.

"Michael? You're both my real sons, Kyle," she told him.

"I am not!" he shouted, losing his cool.

"Kyle, calm down," Stephen said, putting a hand to his shoulder, "Just calm yourself down. There's no point in anger like this."

"Yes there is! Don't you see that she came here for a reason?" Kyle shouted, "She obviously wants to take me away!"

"You're not taking him away!" Josh shouted at her, clearly falling into what Kyle had said. He couldn't dispute the logic. Or maybe he just didn't like Grace and wanted to shout at her. Probably a bit of both.

"We won't let you take him," Lori said, keeping a bit calmer about herself than Josh had, "He's our brother. He may be your son, but he's our brother first!"

"I renounce you and your blood," Kyle told Grace coldly, "The Tragers are my only family now."

"Now, now, Kyle," she started, "don't talk like that. The Tragers did an excellent job of raising you these few years, of helping you to develop and see what you could of the world, but they can only hold you back at this point.

"Don't you see that I can offer you so much more? I can offer you the world, if you desire it, Kyle. I can offer you just about anything you would ever want or need."

"How do you plan on managing that?" Kyle questioned her.

"Because that's what Latnok is," she told him, "Latnok is your calling. It's your heritage. Why do you think I've managed to rise as far as I have? Because Adam was respected. By being his egg donor, I am respected in another way. It isn't pure respect; they aren't that shallow to see that. I devoted my life in Latnok to being the best I could be. They finally saw me as Adam's equal, if not superior. I've managed to secure a good place for myself, and I'm not as good as you, Kyle. Imagine the spot that you will have in Latnok when you come with me.

"Latnok already wants you. They already know what you can do, respect and admire what you can do. They want to have you as one of us, Kyle. I, as your mother, am only looking out for your best interests by planning on bringing you back. Can't you see that, my son?"

"I am not your son," he hissed, "If anything, I am Adam Baylin's son!"

"Baylin is dead and gone," she told him, "You need to find your mother, now. You need to come to me."

"I don't need you," he hissed, "I have the Tragers. They're the only family I need anymore."

"You really think that, don't you?" she questioned, "How far will they let you go in your life, though? Answer me that," she challenged.

"I don't know what you mean."

"I don't think any of us do," Nicole said.

"I think she's insulting us as a family," Josh put in.

"I mean no harm," Grace said, "I mean that you hardly have the resources to help Kyle advance. He could advance on his own, but nowhere near as high as he could with the help of Latnok, with my help."

"I won't take your help," he told her, "I'd rather die than go anywhere with you, accept your help."

"We've only just met. I'm trying to get you to abandon your life that you've known for the last few years; the only life you've ever known. I know this can be frightening, Kyle, the unknown is frightening. I'll forgive your insults."

"They aren't insults," he said, "Dying would be better than going with you, with Latnok. Latnok is an evil organization. But if I were to die, then nobody would be around to try to stop them. To stop you."

"We don't need to be stopped," Grace said, "We only try to help."

"Help? By selling clones of me to the highest bidder?"

"Look at yourself, Kyle," Grace told him, "Look at what you've done with your life since coming to the Tragers. You've touched many lives, in the conventional sense as to what we would call 'many'. Most of those lives have been touched for the better. Look at how good of a person you are, Kyle.

"Now, imagine that on a much larger scale. That is our hope with the clones, if we could have the formula from you. Imagine a small army of good, healing individuals like you working throughout the world, trying to right wrongs, fix everything that can be fixed. Bring rain to the deserts, bring food to the hungry. Imagine it, Kyle. That is what we hope to accomplish as Latnok!"

"I don't believe you," he told her, "Latnok has become a corrupt organization. Its only interest is in gaining a profit. You don't care if the clones would do good things. You don't care if they would do morally wrong things. All you care about is getting paid for them. For anything you create.

"That computer program? I saw it working as it was meant to work. I saw it working on a mentally damaged woman, working to find the cause of the problem and allow the C.I.R. to help fix it. I saw how wonderful such a program and machine could be. I also knew of what you were planning on doing with it, and had to destroy it.

"The things that Latnok creates can be wonderful, or they can be dangerous. Oftentimes both. They can help humanity, or they can help fill Latnok's purse. You and everyone else at Latnok is interested only in filling your own pockets. In gaining the money from the sales, from the deals you make. Isn't that right?"

"You're wrong."

"Josh, Lori, I think you two should go," Nicole told her two children.

"What?" Josh questioned, "You think we're going to miss this? I mean, it's only a discussion of philosophy or something, of right and wrong, but this is too good to miss!"

Lori shot him a look, "Besides, we're Kyle's brother and sister. We're both part of his family. We both care too much about him to let this woman take him. We're here for him."

"Yeah, that too," Josh said.

"Nicole is right. Please, leave," Kyle told the two of them.

"Kyle, we're here for you!" Lori told him, "We can stay and help be moral support."

"I have my morals in place," he said, "I don't need support. I also don't want you two here to be witness to what is going to happen here. You've already heard enough. I know I tell you all about Latnok and what happens, but I don't want you to know more than you have to, lest you too become targets, more so than Cassidy claims you already are."

"My other son has been warned," Grace said.

"That's not going to stop him, considering he put me in the hospital and nearly killed me," Kyle told her.

Lori and Josh were getting up from the table. Josh was going to complain, but Lori shook her head and pulled him out with her.

"What do you think is going to happen in there?" Josh asked, "And…he mentioned some computer program. Any idea what that's about?"

"I don't know what's going to happen," she said, "And…no. I don't know what he was talking about. I was hoping you could tell me. I figured he might have told you about that adventure, whatever it was."

"No, he didn't," Josh said, "Now, where do you think the best place to listen would be?"

"Come on," she said, pulling Josh away from where he was, "We're not going to hear anything there."

"You actually want to do this?" he asked, "I'm impressed."

"Kyle's family. We can't let that woman take him."

"Glad to see we're thinking the same," he said.

"We both love him. We can't lose him. I don't think we could live properly anymore without him."

"Yeah…we couldn't. I hate to say it, but he really is family now, even after so many years without him."

"He's a fundamental part of the family," Lori agreed.

In the kitchen, Grace leaned forward, "Now that those two are done, we can really get into this," she said, "You're coming with me. That's all there is to it."

"You can't make me come," he said.

"Adam Baylin had a fake paternity test done to get you to leave a few years ago, remember that? The Petersons?"

"What of them?" he questioned.

"I also have the proper DNA for a test," she said, "And with Latnok, we can win any legal case brought up because of the Petersons, even if they are legally deceased. I can make you come back, legally."

"I'm basically an adult," Kyle said, "You can't do that."

"You don't know your exact age," she said, "You're not quite eighteen yet, though. I can have you for at least some time."

"If you can win fast enough in court," he said.

Her expression darkened, "If you don't come with me, then you will regret it, Kyle. You and this family."

"Are you threatening us?" Stephen demanded.

"No," she said, "I'm not here to do that. I'm saying that you will all regret holding him back."

"We won't hold him back," Nicole told Grace.

"You may not think you are. You may not think you will. But you can do nothing but hold him back. This family isn't suited to him. It limits his potential. He must leave it if he is to become greater than he is. If he is to live up to what Adam Baylin sought for him. He must come with me, to the resources of Latnok."

"Never," Kyle said, "I'll make do with the Tragers. They're all I could ever need, and more."

"Kyle. If you don't come, then you will never have access to your legacy."

"Latnok?"

"Yes. It is your family business, so to speak. Adam, myself, and it goes back to our parents as well. Your grandparents on both ends. Even Michael is a part of Latnok. Do you really want to be left out of that?"

"If it means being with the Tragers, yes."

"And we're back to this," Grace said, shaking her head, "Kyle, you must stop hiding behind this family."

"I'm not hiding."

"You're hiding yourself from the proper world. From your fate, your destiny, by being with this family."

"We've done everything for Kyle," Nicole defended, "We allow him to live with his own choices, like parents do. He's made his choice, so why don't you act like his mother and accept it?"

"Because I want what's best for him, as a parent does," Grace said, "And what's best for him is Latnok."

"That's what you think is best for him," Nicole said, "What's best for him is a family that loves him unconditionally."

"Kyle's clearly made his decision not to go with you," Stephen said, "Why don't you just leave?"

"Because he's mine!" she snapped, "I will have my child back!"

"He's hardly a child anymore," Stephen said, "You never were meant to be involved in his life, were you? You gave an egg and that's all. You can't lay claim to him if that's all you did."

"I can lay claim to him," she said, "I will lay claim to him. He is my flesh and blood, and I hold his legacy in the palm of my hand. He must come with me."

Kyle sat there, listening to his mother by blood and his 'real' parents arguing over him. He watched back and forth, listening to their sides, listening to their words, their tones, their passions. The Tragers were determined to keep him, as Kyle had said he would stay with them. Grace was fighting to take him, and wasn't going to back down.

_I had two decisions at this point. I could either go with Grace, my real mother, and go to Latnok. I could change it from the inside; return it to the benevolent organization that it was always meant to be. I could do it in Adam's name, and return the glory of the organization._

_ Or I could stay with the family that loves me. With the family I love. With the Tragers. If I did, I wouldn't be able to affect Latnok the way I could otherwise, but I could still attempt to change the organization from the outside. It would be a harder path, a longer path, but it would be the path I would take._

"If I may?"

"Kyle, go ahead," Stephen told him.

He looked to Grace, "I know you have my best interests at heart. You're my mother. I could feel that from the moment I saw you. I'm sure you can just tell I'm your son, even if you had nothing to do with me. Even if I have very little of you within me. I'm sure that you really do have my best interests at your heart. You want me to take over the legacy of my family; the legacy of Latnok.

"I understand why you're here. I understand why you're fighting to take me. You just want back what's yours. But the Tragers took me in! They helped me become this man I am! The man is what Latnok wants. That's all, isn't it? It's because of the Tragers that I'm this man. The Tragers deserve respect that you aren't showing. They molded me into the desirable man that I am to the organization, and to you.

"Listen to me. I am staying with the Tragers. I've thought about the offer. I've thought about what being in Latnok entails. I want nothing of it. If I will become a member of Latnok, it will be without you. It will be because I change things from the outside, where I can do good for everyone, not for the few members who work with me. What I mean to say is, I will do good with my own two hands, not with the power of that organization doing it for me. Only by doing it alone will I ever accept Latnok to join me in helping others. Only my own way will ever lead me to join Latnok.

"Do you understand me?"

"I understand you," Grace said, "You're a fool, Kyle. You're a passionate fool, just like Adam."

"You said your genes were repressed in me. Of course I'm like Adam," he said.

She got up from the table, "Well, I think it's about time I left. It was a…pleasure to meet you, my son."

As she turned to leave, he spoke to her back, "I'm not your son."

"Say that all you want. Blood is blood, no matter how thin."

"I've heard that from your son more than I'd like to," he said, "Did he get it from you, or you from him?"

"He got it from me," she said, "He actually got things from me. You got nothing from your mother, and wouldn't even take the offer. At least you considered it."

"Very briefly," he said.

Wisps of a smile appeared, "At least you did show some consideration to it. That's what I wanted. You'll come to Latnok before the end, Kyle."

"The end?"

"Nothing sinister, just an expression, of sorts," she said.

"You should stop talking and just leave," Kyle told her.

"Fine, I'm going. But remember, the offer is always open. Just speak to Michael and he'll get you to me, to get into Latnok."

"I won't take the offer," Kyle said, "So don't be waiting to hear from me."

Her smile vanished, "Goodbye, my son."

Lori and Josh scrambled away as they heard Grace coming in their direction. They hid while she walked out, towards the door, and left the Trager house. They came back out and went to the kitchen, pretending to have not overheard anything.

"I take it you're staying," Lori said.

Kyle nodded, "I couldn't leave my family."

Josh smiled, "That's great!" he clapped Kyle on the back, "You gave up power and money for us! I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"It's a good thing," Kyle said, "Money and power can only get you so far. Family and love is what gets you the farthest."

* * *

><p>["Cry" by James Blunt .comwatch?v=1vkp3eqV0rM]

_Maybe I should have tried to find out more about Grace Kinsgly. The woman is my mother, if only by blood. She didn't even birth me, but I feel I should have found out more about her. The Tragers give me love, but Grace showed none. Perhaps had I made an effort, she would have._

_ Am I a bad person for not caring? For not wanting anything to do with her? With the way she acts, through Latnok, I have to think I'm not. I have to think I made the right choice in every action I made towards her._

_ I would never leave the Tragers, but at least knowing my mother might have been nice. It makes me think of the old debate of nature verses nurture. Nature is being raised in a specific surroundings. Nurture being the way you were raised. I was raised by a loving family, showing unconditional love towards me. That was my nurture. I was natured in a proper home as well._

_ In the end, it didn't matter where we would have been, as long as the Tragers had been there. Nurture._

_ But with Grace Kingsly? Raised with money and power, even from nearly sixteen years of age? I feel that she isn't the nurturing type, looking at Cassidy. Nature would have been the deciding factor. And once more looking at Cassidy, it wouldn't have been a good way for me to have come out._

_ Even now, even raised and proper as I am, I wouldn't want anything to affect me that Grace could have had working for or against me. I'm fine where I am. I'm where I belong._

_ I don't care anymore about Grace, about Latnok. The offers she made me are nothing but empty. She was serious about them, but I would never take them. I could never take them. I couldn't leave the Tragers like that. I couldn't be with such a woman, even if she is my mother. I don't care about her nor her offer any longer._

_ Cassidy and Grace may be my blood, but the relationship I have with the Tragers is thicker than blood. I'm where I belong._

[Song ends]


	8. Business as Usual

Sorry this one took longer to get up. I'm living at my cabin now instead of home while I'm in college, I've changed my schedules around so I don't stay up to write as much anymore because of early classes... This new computer is a bit difficult to type on, so there may be a few errors I missed, with spelling, or improper spacing, but I'm still getting used to it.

This is by far not my best work. I remember writing up the synopsis for this one months ago, when I was planning the season, and I dreaded this one. It's basically a four scene chapter, with three scenes being short. But I think the message that Kyle learns came out right, and the next two are going to be great. The two I've looked forward to writing the most are the final two. Hopefully I'll get the next one up in two or three days for you guys.

And one final thought; because it took so long, the final chapter titles are "Black on White" and "Unfinished Business".

* * *

><p>8: Business as Usual<p>

_I was shaken by the appearance of Grace Kinglsy; my birth mother. At first I was shocked and feeling a series of negative emotions towards her appearance. Why should she come now? My suspicions were confirmed when she tried to recruit me into Latnok._

_ That woman may share blood with me. She and Cassidy may share blood with me, but that hardly makes them family. They are not my family, nor will they ever be. My family is the Tragers, with an extended family in their friends, who have also become my friends over the time I have been with them._

_ Declan is like a brother to me; a confidant, an ally. He has proven himself time and again for me, and is connected to me through Lori._

_ Andy isn't as close as Declan, but through her connection with Josh, and that she's helped me to put things into perspective with her cancer in the past, she is equal to a family member, if for no other reason than she makes Josh happy._

_ Hillary, through Lori, is harder to classify, but she is still a friend. She doesn't know much, nor does Andy, but as Lori's close friend, she counts, to me._

_ There's also Amanda and Jessi, but they don't apply in this situation. Amanda is through myself and Lori, while Jessi is through me, as the only person who can ever truly understand me, or so I sometimes tend to think, as she has stated in the past. Amanda is the one woman I hope to love for many years to come, but is hard to figure out, especially based on our current relationship stance._

_ There's one reason I think of this now. Grace Kingsly shook me by appearing, and now, to try to return things to normal, I'm with Lori, who by extent, brought Declan and Hillary with. And, perhaps out of boredom of not having Andy around, Josh is here with us. Perhaps this can settle my mind and bring things closer to normal._

* * *

><p>"Where are we supposed to go anyway?" Josh complained, "I mean, with The Rack gone, where do we hang out?"<p>

"We?" Hillary questioned him, "Well, the rest of us are going to find a place, but why are you here anyway?"

"Hillary," Declan told her sternly, having taken up a more protective stance as of late, for reasons that none of them really understood, "You kind of sound like a bitch saying that."

"Excuse me?" she yelled at him.

"I mean that in the kindest possible way," Declan stated with a hint of a smile.

"He's right, Hills," Lori said, "Even though I don't want Josh tagging along either…" She hoped he would get the hint. He didn't.

"Look, with Andy gone, and no job, I really don't have much to do," Josh told them.

"You could be playing your games," Lori told him, hoping to convince him to leave.

"Without Andy?"

"You're online; find her," his sister said.

"She told me she was grounded!" he said.

"If she's grounded, then how did she get you a message?" Kyle asked him.

"She managed to get it out before being grounded," Josh said, "So that's out of the question."

"Go make new online nerd friends," Lori told him.

"Andy is not a nerd!"

"But you don't defend anyone else?" Lori asked.

"Wha- Look! That's not the point," Josh said, "I'm just…sick of it. I need some human interaction."

"Don't get enough with yourse-" Lori was cut off.

"Shut up!" Josh shouted at her, "Or do you want me telling everyone here something that you wouldn't want anyone to know?"

"Come on, it's not like we can't figure it out that you do that," Hillary told him, "Though it's gross to think about."

"What secret could you possibly have about me?" Lori questioned him.

"You really don't want to find out," he said.

"Empty threat," Lori said.

"You know, I'm kind of interested," Declan said, smiling, hoping to provoke Lori into some interaction with him, since recently it had been getting less and less again, after having gone so well.

Kyle looked around them as they were all walking down the sidewalk, going from person to person as they spoke. Was this his normalcy? Was this his life? Yes, technically it was, but this wasn't the life that he usually had. Little of this really mattered in life, that they spoke about, but this was what he was getting. He preferred to talk about things that mattered, but just being with friends was enough.

"Maybe you should stop, Josh," Kyle said.

"What?" he asked, "Why?"

"Do you really want to make Lori mad?" he was sure that Josh had something, but didn't bother to try to tell if he was lying or not. Brothers and sisters usually fought like this, as far as Kyle knew, and sometimes it was a bluff, while just as many times it was the truth.

"What do I care if I make her mad?" he questioned Kyle.

_Brothers and sisters – family – should try to keep a wellbeing amongst themselves. They shouldn't argue or fight like this. But then again, this is family; the fighting like this. But which type of family do should I support right now? Should I try to keep them in line, or should I let them go on like this, as siblings do?_

"Josh, Kyle is wiser than we'll ever be," Declan said to the younger man, "Maybe he has a point."

"You're just siding with him because you're his friend," Josh said.

"Are we going to be childish like this?" Hillary complained, "That sounds like such a little kids excuse!"

Lori and Declan both gained smiles and bits of laughter, "Yeah, kind of does," Declan said.

"Fine!" Josh exclaimed, "I can see that I'm outnumbered here."

"Thank you for quieting down," Lori told him.

"Yeah, no problem Trager," Declan said. He shook his head, despite her not looking at him, "Sorry, I'm trying to stop."

"Well, at least you're trying," Lori said offhandedly.

"You think he can stop?" Hillary asked Lori.

While they talked about him, he hung back, getting towards Kyle, "So…you really want to stick around?" he asked Kyle quietly.

"I do," Kyle replied.

"Why? I mean, I wouldn't be here if I hadn't told Lori I would. Or if I wasn't someone to keep my word," Declan said.

Kyle couldn't tell him about Grace. He wasn't sure if Lori had told him, however. But he didn't want to tell Declan, worry him over anything he didn't need to be worried about. He hadn't even told Tom Foss about Grace's appearance.

"I just haven't been around all of you guys recently," Kyle said, "I like to be around all of you. All of my friends."

"You consider Hillary a friend?" he asked quietly.

Kyle looked to her, then back to Declan, "She's Lori's friend; that's what matters."

"I guess," Declan said, not really wanting to think about himself and Hillary, and the strange relationship that they had.

"What are ya talking about?" Josh asked them, hanging back so as not to be bored.

"Nothing really," Declan said.

"Friends," Kyle said, not caring if Josh knew, nor caring about what he would think, unlike Declan, who clearly cared for some reason.

"Friends?" Josh asked.

"Yeah," Kyle told him, "Why? Does that sound strange to you?"

"No," Josh said, "Because friends and family are basically a step away. Is that what you're thinking about?"

"What does he mean?" Declan asked Kyle.

_I can't tell him about Grace Kingsly. He may be my close friend and confidant, but this is something I can't tell him. It's something to keep in the family. But Declan is like family, and family as much as the Tragers are. But I can't tell him._

"Nothing," Kyle lied, looking to Josh, "He doesn't mean anything."

"Yeah, that's right," Josh said, catching the hint.

"Whatever," Declan said.

Because of their lagging behind, Lori and Hillary turned to them, "What are you boys talking about that's so secretive?" Hillary questioned.

"Nothing," Declan said, "We're just not that interested in the latest gossip that you two are no doubt talking about."

"It's good, though!" Hillary defended. She was serious; they were talking about gossip, and she did think it was good.

"Yeah, to you two, maybe," Declan said, "We have our own things to talk about."

"You want to be a part of the conversation?" Lori asked him, "We can make you part." She looked to Hillary, "You want to do the honors here?"

"My pleasure," Hillary replied, "So, Josh. You're apparently not a virgin anymore; you really think anyone believes that?"

"Where did you even hear that?" Josh shouted, looking angrily at Lori, who shrugged innocently, "And how is that your business anyway?"

She ignored him, "Declan, how's that girl, Jackie?"

He didn't answer. Lori also felt a twinge in the pit of her stomach at the mention of Jackie. Not over Declan; she came to terms with her feelings with him, but over the inability to get in contact with Mark.

"Kyle, Amanda or Jessi?"

He looked down. She wasn't trying to get to him, she was just kind of annoyed by the three of them. She didn't mean anything by it, he told himself.

But yet he felt a lot of pain at that question. Which woman?

"Maybe I went too far," Hillary said quietly to Lori.

"Yeah, I think you did. But it seems to have helped a bit," Lori replied, "Well guys, sorry about that. Now, let's all talk again and I won't sick Hillary on you."

Kyle looked up at them as Josh and Declan went closer to the girls. He just said, "I don't know."

They looked back, "What?" Lori asked him.

"I answered Hillary's question," Kyle said, "I don't know which girl. I just don't, and I wish I did."

"That wasn't a serious question," Hillary told him.

"I know," Kyle said, "But still, it's a question I've needed to answer. I don't know…and I'm confused."

"I think he needs help," Hillary told Lori, though loudly enough for them all to hear.

"Not our kind of help," Lori told Hillary, "I don't think we could make it any better for him."

"Well, if it gets you two to stop annoying me, go for it," Josh said, looking to Declan, "You've been pretty cool so far today, you want to keep going?"

"Yeah, no offense, but we're not friends enough for me to," Declan said.

"Fine," Josh said, "I'll just go off on my own then."

"You do that," Declan said.

After a moment, Josh didn't go anywhere, "I was bluffing."

"I figured," Declan said, "We're the best you've got."

"Yeah…that's really sad," Josh muttered.

"Come and sit down," Hillary told Kyle, pulling him by his arm to the park that they were passing by, sitting him down at a picnic table, "Now, Hillary your problems."

"It's not really a problem," Kyle said, "I wasn't looking for advice."

"You were just speaking up, then?" she asked, and he nodded, "Well, too bad. I'm here to help you so you don't mope around."

"Was I moping?" he asked, confused.

"Not on the outside, but on the inside, I'm sure. And that still brings us all down," Hillary said.

"Hillary, just let Kyle figure this out himself. We've all accepted that for some time already," Lori told her.

"Well clearly he hasn't figured it out on his own yet," Hillary said, "So I have to help, since he can't do it alone. Now, tell me the problems."

"I don't really feel comfortable doing this," Kyle said, "I don't want to talk about them behind their backs, not like this."

"Well, too bad for them," Hillary said, "But I can promise you that they won't find out."

Kyle sighed, "Well…I'm in love with Amanda…"

"Stop right there," Hillary said, "You're in love. Is this real love, or just puppy love? Last I saw, I think its puppy."

"Does it matter?" Kyle asked, not too familiar with the term "puppy love", but he could get the gist of it.

"Yes, of course it matters!" Hillary told him as if he were stupid, "True, deep down love and innocent puppy love are two entirely different things. True love can be passionate, reckless…dangerous, dirty. Puppy love is pure, innocent, it doesn't go very far."

Kyle thought about both women. By the way Hillary explained it, his love for Amanda was puppy love, while with Jessi, it was true love. If Hillary was any expert to go by.

He hoped she wasn't, while at the same time he hoped she was, confusing himself even more.

"Now that you know, what do you think your love for Amanda is?" Hillary asked him, clearly expecting an answer.

_I didn't want to answer. Some naïve part of myself thought that if I withheld the answer, that I could keep that information from becoming real; from being a fact. I knew that it was foolish, that it was either true or not, but I thought…_

"It…its puppy love," he finally said. That's all it could be. All he and Amanda ever had was innocent, pure emotion, it never went far.

It was unfortunately puppy love. Not real. He didn't know why he trusted Hillary so much, but he did.

"And now, what about Jessi, the woman we would all should prefer not to name, because of what she did to Lori?" Hillary asked him.

He thought about the time he had with Jessi. It was sick, wrong, passionate, wild, right. It was all of that and more.

He couldn't tell anyone about that. He couldn't admit to anything with Jessi. He didn't want it to be real, because he knew it could present a problem for himself and Amanda in the future. He just didn't want anyone to know; for fear that Amanda would think less of him, even if they weren't together at that time.

"It's neither," he lied, knowing that it was real love that he had for Jessi. He wished it wasn't. He would have given anything for the positions to be reversed, but he couldn't change things.

Amanda was a puppy love, while Jessi was real love.

"Ok, good. Now that we have that settled let's go," Hillary said, "My work is done for now."

As they continued to walk, Kyle kept quiet, lost in his own thoughts. He vaguely heard Hillary make another comment.

"You know, it's kind of like it used to be," she said, "Except for Kyle and your brother," she told Lori, "But you, me, Declan. Even Kyle, I guess. Without Jessi or anyone else around, it's like it always used to be."

Kyle looked up when she said that. He thought about her words.

_Normalcy. Jessi is a part of my normal life, as is Latnok now. But years ago, they wouldn't have been. Before I knew of either, before I knew of any of my heritage, of who I really was, this would have been normalcy._

_ It's odd how the sense of normalcy can change like this, so quickly, so vastly. One year we're together as friends, no secrets because there were none to be had. Now, a few years later, we all have secrets from each other, most pertaining to me. Like a spider sitting at the center of its own web, except I'm not manipulating the threads._

_ Maybe this is what it is to have a normal day, now. Maybe without Jessi or Amanda, without the threat of Latnok, Cassidy, Nate or Grace Kinglsy. Maybe this is how things should be from now on._

_ I hope this is how things can continue to be from now on. But with Amanda by my side, and no threats to worry about, even in the back of my mind. I hope that we can take care of all of it, and soon._

_ I hope that normalcy really can return._

Declan's phone went off. He pulled it out, "Hello? Right, completely forgot. Sorry, I'll be right there." He closed it.

"You have somewhere you need to be?" Lori asked him.

"Maybe it's a date," Josh said, taking a jab at his sister.

She glared at him, some jealousy in her eyes, then looked back to Declan, "Well?"

"Yeah, I do. I made plans a while ago that I forgot about. It's important, or I would blow them off, seriously. This was fun; we need to do it again." He turned and ran off, clearly not wanting to continue talking, as his speech had grown more erratic towards the end as he sped up his words.

"I wonder where he could be off to so quickly," Hillary said.

"Like I said, probably a date," Josh said.

"Shut up!" Lori snapped at him.

"Whoa! I thought you were dating that Mark guy! Why so angry?" He smiled slyly, "You still have a thing for Declan, don't you?"

"If you don't quiet down, I'll make sure you never see Andy again, or anything else for that matter!" she threatened him.

Kyle wasn't interested in the bickering and fighting of siblings. He wasn't interested in Hillary standing there, watching the arguing. He was only interested in trying to figure out between Amanda and Jessi.

_Who is to say that puppy love can't be real love? Amanda and I may be innocent and pure in our relationship, while Jessi and I are volatile and self-destructive, but that doesn't mean anything. My love for Amanda can be real, while my feelings for Jessi can be anything other than love._

_ There's nothing set in stone dictating that one must be real, while the other can't be. There's nothing dictating that a man can't have two loves._

_ But I only want one. I only want Amanda. So why did I give up the chance to be with her again? Even if it wasn't for the reasons that I would want to be with her, why did I give it up? I should never give up the chance._

_ Never._

"I should go," Kyle said.

"Not you too!" Hillary said, "You're not going anywhere, Kyle!"

"I have to go and talk to Amanda! I have to get her back!" he told her.

"Is this about something I said?" she asked him, "You know, I may know what I'm talking about, but…" she couldn't decide how to finish that thought.

"You probably shouldn't listen to Hillary for relationship advice," Lori finished.

"Hey!" Hillary snapped.

"What? You were basically thinking it too," Lori said, turning back to her argument with Josh.

She shrugged to Kyle, "Well, she is right. Did you think of something after listening to me?" she questioned him.

"I did," he told her, "I figured out that no matter what, I want Amanda. I don't care if its puppy love, innocent, pure. That's who she is; that's how our love should be. It will become real love someday, but for now, it's the love that suits her."

Hillary sighed, "Like Lori said, you shouldn't be listening that seriously," she told Kyle.

"It's the only thing I have!" he said loudly, "It's the only way I can make myself be with Amanda at this point! I need to listen and bend what you say to fit me!"

They all looked at him in his desperation. Kyle looked at all of them, then back to Hillary, "I need to listen to you. I need to take at least some of your words to heart and work on my relationships and life."

"Go then," Hillary told him, "I won't stand in the way of true love."

"True?" he asked her.

"If you care about her that much, it must be," Hillary told him.

"Thanks," he told her, running off in the other direction.

"Do you really think that?" Josh asked her.

She shook her head, "No, but whatever makes him happy, I guess." She smiled, "I'm too nice for my own good, I guess."

"Yeah," Josh said sarcastically, earning a slap to his side from Hillary, "What was that for?" he yelled.

"Everything," Hillary said, "Come on, Lori, let's go."

"What about me?" Josh questioned.

"Do you really want to be hanging out with your sister and her friend?" Lori questioned him.

"You make a good point," Josh said, running off, just as Declan and Kyle had already done.

"So, where do you think Declan had to be?" Hillary asked Lori.

"I don't know," Lori said, pretty annoyed.

"I could try to find out for you," Hillary offered.

"I don't want to know," Lori told her.

"Are you sure? You clearly still like him," Hillary commented.

"I'm with Mark," Lori said.

"And you told me you couldn't get in contact with him for how long?" she asked.

"Weeks," Lori muttered.

"Right. So why not assume the worst and go back to Declan? You two were always so good together," Hillary said.

"Because I need someone better than Declan," Lori said, "And Mark is better, as I've found."

"Are you sure? Or were you just using him as a substitute while you couldn't be with Declan?" Hillary asked her, "I think you just used him for a while to compensate for Declan. Not that there's much comparison; Declan is far better."

"You don't know Mark like I do," Lori told her.

"But be honest; am I right?"

"Well…"

"I am right!" Hillary said, "So why don't you just go and try to get with Declan again? So what if you're both dating other people? Drop them and get that great couple back together!"

Lori looked away, afraid to admit that Hillary was right.

* * *

><p>"You're late," Foss told Declan.<p>

"I was with Kyle," Declan told him, panting from his running to get there roughly on time, "I'm sorry."

"The end of your training begins soon," Foss told him, ignoring the apology, "Are you going to be ready?"

"Of course," Declan said, "What does the end mean?"  
>"You mean what do you have to do?" Foss questioned him.<p>

"Yeah, exactly that," Declan replied, "What do I need to do to finish training?"

"You need to survive," Foss told him.

"Survive?" Declan questioned.

Foss pointed to a backpack lying on the floor, "Look inside."

Declan walked over to it and crouched down, picking through the items inside. He found a flask for water, a survival knife, a flint, a small oiled tarp, and not much else, other than a length of rope tied around the outside.

"So…survive?" he asked Foss, "Where?"

"I'll get you that information soon," Foss told him, "Just store that in your vehicle and await instructions. You'll need to survive for twenty four hours in the place of my choice for you. Then and only then will you have fully shown me that you're ready to be Kyle's guardian."

"I'll do my best," Declan told Foss, picking up the pack.

"No gun," Foss told him as afterthought, as well as, "Your best won't cut it. You must simply survive; don't try to impress. Just survive."

"Got it," Declan told him, "So…"

"We're done. Go and put that in your truck."

"Right," Declan said, running off, leaving Foss alone in the large, empty abandoned building to watch him go.

* * *

><p>Kyle was soon running down the block towards Amanda's house as well as the Tragers house. He was going to go to Amanda and take her back, after she had offered to get back together when he was in the hospital.<p>

It wasn't for the right reasons, but sometimes that didn't matter. To Kyle it always mattered, but Hillary had made him really think about the types of love, and that he should be with Amanda, even if it wasn't for necessarily all of the right reasons. They were right enough.

As he continued to run, he slowed when he saw a car outside of Amanda's house. It was a taxi, he noticed. He could see Amanda getting into it with a suitcase in hand, and then they were pulling out, coming his way.

He stayed standing where he was. He turned to look inside as they passed. He could see Amanda looking out. For a moment, their eyes connected, and then she was gone. She hadn't had the taxi stop so she could talk to him; she just went on.

He slowly made his way towards the houses now, seeing Amanda's mother outside as he passed. He stopped at the end of their driveway, "Where did she go?" he asked her bluntly, ignoring the fact that he was fairly rude by asking in such a way.

Mrs. Bloom didn't seem to notice, or she didn't care today, at least not on the outside, "She went to look at colleges in New York," she told Kyle, "There was a chance for her to go to a good one, so she took it. She'll likely be able to end up going there, and if she likes her visit, I have no doubt she will go. I don't like her being away, but she saw the chance, and I let her go. Because of you."

"I didn't…," he couldn't argue with her, not over something like this, "When will she be back?"

"Amanda gave me instructions that, if you asked, not to tell you," she told him.

"Why?" he questioned in an outburst.

"I don't know," she replied, "I've grown to kind of like you, Kyle, but whatever you did, Amanda isn't that happy anymore, and I'm starting to grow to dislike you again. Because I don't like people who make Amanda mad. Who she holds in bad grace."

"Did she say that?" he questioned.

"I can just tell that there's something wrong with her, involving you," she told him, "Now, I have work to do," she walked back inside, having been out to see Amanda off, and possibly to wait for him, knowing that he would come.

_And now Amanda is gone. Because of me, she may not be here much longer. What would I do if she went to New York for college? Would I be able to follow her? I don't think she would want that, so I couldn't. And I have my family here, and Latnok is here, and I have to stop them._

_ I can stay with my family, stop Latnok, but I may lose Amanda forever. Is it worth it? Is my duty to stop Latnok worth more than my love for Amanda?_

_I guess I'll have to make the most of any time I have left with her. Left with anyone, in case others begin to leave, or if I leave…_

* * *

><p>["Boston" by Augustana .comwatch?v=xtTXLNojljE]

"Why did you call all of us here?" questioned Hillary.

It was Hillary, Lori, Josh, Kyle and Declan once again, meeting in a park. Josh brought up the same point, "It's not like the last time went very well," he told Kyle.

"There's a very important reason I called you all here," Kyle said, "Because we're all friends, in some way."

"Is that it?" Josh questioned him.

"No. That's not it," Kyle replied, "It's because…our paths are going to be going away from each other soon, right? College, our paths in life…how long do we actually have left together? How long until we part ways?

"I went to see Amanda earlier today. She was going to New York to look at colleges out there, without telling me, without leaving me anything about when she would be back. She's still hurt, and I realized I might not see her again, not in the way we used to see each other, if you get what I mean."

"I'm sorry man," Declan said.

"It'll work out," Kyle said.

_I hope._

"So I called you all her because…when our paths do part, I want us to have a memory like this. I want us to all have had this time together. Times have been hard for us recently, in a variety of ways. We've all had our own hardships, but…our friendship is a constant.

"We need this friendship. We need something to hold onto. We need a past to hold. Isn't that right, everyone? We just need something like this."

"I agree," Declan said, "I don't have any plans for leaving Seattle but…we need this."

"I don't plan on leaving for a while," Josh said, still having another year of school left.

"I…," Lori shook her head.

"Go on," Kyle said.

"I'm going away," she said, "For college. I don't know where yet, but I am going to leave."

"You didn't tell me?" Hillary questioned, "Why not?"

"Because I wasn't going to tell anyone," Lori said, "Not until I found a school. I'm…I'm going into music still, but I don't have a place yet."

"I'm not going anywhere," Hillary said.

"What about you, Kyle?" Declan asked.

"I don't know. I think I'm going to stay. This is my home; I can't leave it."

_We may have different plans in life. Lori going to a school somewhere else. Declan is going to stay. Josh will probably stay, and Hillary is also staying. Lori may be the only one leaving, and possibly Amanda, but we still have our different paths in life._

_ Josh is probably going to try to be with Andy, and go to her. Hillary doesn't seem like she would want to stay here for too long, when she could be seeing places. I feel she'll leave eventually._

_ Declan says he'll stay, but knowing him, he may go after Lori. He obviously still deeply cares about her. And Amanda may be going to New York._

_ That leaves me. I may be staying here in Seattle, but I won't have a normal life by any means. My entire goal is to stay here and to stop Latnok._

_ We may persist here, together, but we all have our different paths. At least we have these memories. Normalcy can continue. Not everything has to change._

_ Our friendships won't._

[Song ends]


	9. Black on White

9: Black on White

_In life there are some things that can be perceived in multiple ways. What is good for one can be bad for another, for instance. Something that frightens one may not frighten another, as the first may not properly understand it, unlike the second._

_ However, sometimes in life it's a good idea to look into mixed perceptions. The worst often happens, whether we want it to or not. We can't always assume that the good will happen, or that nothing wrong will be the end result. We must always assume that the worst case scenario is possible for us, for what it is that we are thinking about._

_ We have to also be ready for it._

* * *

><p>"Come on Declan, don't you think it's a little odd that neither of them are answering our calls?" Lori was questioning Declan, "I can't get to Mark – dad hasn't seen him – and you can't get Jackie. Obviously something is wrong."<p>

"I don't want to think that," Declan said, "Not after all the stuff that's happened with Kyle. I mean, I don't mind helping him, but I don't want to have two fronts of my life consumed with thoughts like that."

"Well, you're going to have to, because there's no doubt that something is wrong!" Lori told him.

"If you're so passionate about it, then why haven't you gone looking for Mark?" he asked her "You could go to his house, or apartment, or whatever."

"Because…," she had no answer to give him.

Kyle was walking by Lori's bedroom when he heard the two of them. He walked inside, "Something's wrong?" he asked.

"We can't get in contact with Mark or Jackie," Lori told Kyle.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence," Declan told Kyle.

"They were both part of Latnok," Kyle said, having no need to further explain himself. That in itself was explanation as to what could be wrong.

"You think Latnok did something? Like kill them?" Lori questioned him.

"I don't think they would do something that extreme, but it's very likely to me that Latnok could be doing something," Kyle told Lori, "It's something we should look into."

"You have you own problems," Lori told him.

"If we're going to look into it, you can stay out of it," Declan told Kyle, "Your business is more important."

"No matter what, this is Latnok," Kyle said, "I have to be ready to stop them anywhere. If Mark and Jackie are missing because of them, I have to be ready to stop them, don't I? Finding those two – if abducted by Latnok, but regardless – is something I have to do."

"Ok, but what if they weren't abducted?" Declan posed the question, "What if Latnok just moved everyone, and they complied?"

"I don't think Mark would," Kyle said, "Not after I ran into him. He didn't seem like he would be a problem. I don't know Jackie well enough."

"She wouldn't," Declan said, "I don't think she would, anyway."

"Well, regardless, it's a matter that we should look into," Kyle said, "If for no other reason than I need to see what Latnok is doing. Even if this has nothing to do with them, I'd like to know what we can find at the lab."

"Ok, I think it's decided," Lori said, "The three of us are going to go to the college."

"You're bringing me?" Declan questioned.

"You're our driver," she said, getting off her bed, "Well, should we go now?"

"Trager, come on, we can't just drop everything and go right now to look into something that's probably nothing," Declan said.

"I'm not doing anything," Kyle said.

"Neither were we," Lori said, about herself and Declan, "There, now let's go."

Lori went out ahead of Kyle, who stopped Declan, "Is there some reason you don't want to go?" he asked the other man.

"No," Declan said, shaking his head, "It's not that."

"Then what?"

"Nothing," he replied, walking out.

Kyle watched him go, then followed quickly behind.

* * *

><p>After their drive, and nearly half an hour of searching, nobody knew anything. Kyle had checked the Latnok labs and other areas used by them, but they were all cleaned out. They checked classes that the Latnok students should be in, but no records of attendance for the month in some case, two in others, and for others yet, only a few weeks to a few days. It was sporadic, but yet, they were all gone.<p>

And nobody – not even friends – knew where they had gone, nor had they seen nor heard anything strange.

"Well that's great, nobody knows anything," Lori said when they met back up, "Unless?"

"No," Declan said.

"I didn't find anything," Kyle told her, "It's…disturbing, that they're all gone. Latnok is doing something, and I want to know what it is."

"Our best bet of finding out is to find the students, then," Lori said.

"Easier said than done," Declan put in.

"I wouldn't know where to start," Kyle admitted, "I don't have any ideas. Unless we get pretty lucky, I don't think we have anywhere to start."

"Well…let's keep asking around," Lori suggested.

"I don't think that's going to work, Trager," Declan told her.

"It should work," Lori told him, "I can't believe nobody we've talked to knows anything. Someone who knows what happened is here, or going to classes, or something. There's no way nobody was on campus that day and noticed anything."

"From what we can gather, it happened over the course of months," Kyle said, "Maybe there was nothing to see, since it was so gradual."

"I'm not willing to accept that," Lori told him, "I'm not giving up until we find something!"

"Is Mark that important to you?" Declan asked her.

"Of course he is! You were that important to me too, when we were together," she told him, "I take my relationships seriously."

They shared a silent moment, looking at each other, both remembering when they were together, and no doubt remembering the recent times they had had together, since neither could find the person they were dating.

Kyle looked at the two of them, then interrupted, "I hate to break this moment, but if we're going to keep looking, then we should get on that. We don't know if someone here knows, or how long they could be around for today."

"Kyle's right," Declan agreed, "Ok, let's keep looking."

After continual questioning and finding new people to ask, Declan found somebody and called the other two to find him. When they were all there, Declan spoke to the man, "Ok, tell them what you told me."

"I was driving around the other day, up the ridge that way," he pointed north, "for the scenic views, to show my girlfriend, then I happened to look down and saw students I had seen around before. They were…I don't know what they were doing, but they were there."

"How recently had you seen them prior to that?" Kyle asked.

"I never had them in class," the man replied, "Some I remember seeing days before, others I had seen, but don't remember. I mean, they weren't that memorable of faces or people to me."

"Ok, so can you give me directions?" Declan asked him.

"Yeah, it's easy," he replied, giving Declan directions while Lori pulled Kyle away for a moment.

"Is he telling the truth?" she whispered to Kyle in question.

"Yeah," Kyle replied, "I mean, I wasn't doing it right away, but I should still be able to pick up on something, by the time I started to read him. Nothing seems to be wrong," he told her.

"Good. The sooner we find them, the better," she said.

"Thanks!" Declan walked towards them with a slip of paper covered in writing, "Directions. Ok, let's go."

"But…what if they're not there?" Lori posed, now that they were together, "I mean, they were a few days ago, and I don't want to just suddenly bring us down, but now that we're going…what if they are gone? What if not all of them are there, and we can't find Mark and Jackie?"

"We'll find them," Kyle assured her, "And if nobody is there when we get there, I might be able to pick up on something."

"Thanks, Kyle," Lori told him.

As they drove away from the campus, the man who gave them directions walked towards another building where a man waited for him.

"I told them just what you wanted me to," he said.

The man walked out of his hiding place, "Excellent work, mate. Seems either Kyle's losing it, or you're a good liar."

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. The less you know, the better," Cassidy told him, not explaining who and what Kyle was.

"Just like when you told me the reason for giving these directions?" he asked.

"Exactly."

"You're not planning on anything…dangerous, are you?" he asked Cassidy.

"Don't worry, your hands will always be clean of this," Cassidy assured him, though he was lying. When it was over, he would tell Latnok that it was this man's doing, and he would feel the wrath of the organization upon him.

Cassidy wouldn't inform them that he had been the actual cause of Kyle's death; that he had paid off a man to give them bad directions to ensure death.

They wanted Kyle alive; they couldn't have him alive. That's what Cassidy decided, no matter how much it cost him.

* * *

><p>"How much farther?" Lori asked Declan.<p>

He glanced to the GPS, "Looks like…"

"What?" she asked, looking at it to get her own answer.

"It's dead," he stated, "That can't be right."

"Let me try something," Lori said, hitting the small machine. It flickered back on, "No, it's not dead."

"I've never seen it do that before," Declan admitted. Then it went out again.

"Whatever, I'll keep making sure it works," she told him, hitting it again, but it didn't work this time. She started to fiddle with it, while Kyle, in the back seat, leaned forward.

"Do you know this area?" he asked Declan.

"No," Declan replied, glancing back, "Why?"

"Well, you should keep your eyes on the road, if there are ridges around here," Kyle said, "And it's a confusing terrain."

"Directions and GPS," he reminded.

"Your GPS isn't working, and the directions might not be perfect," Kyle told Declan, "You should stop looking back here."

"There's a car that followed us off the main road," Declan replied.

"What?" Lori asked, glancing back in the rearview mirror, "Maybe its coincidence."

"Oh, so now who's citing coincidence?" Declan questioned.

"Well it could be," she told him.

Kyle glanced back in the rearview from his spot. How did Declan notice first? Sure, Declan was driving, but Kyle was usually so careful. Even if not looking for something like a car following them in such an odd place, he should have noticed.

It could have just been Declan would have looked in the rearview at some point and noticed, but how did he know it was following from the main road? How did he know it was the same vehicle?

"I really don't like the looks of this," Declan said.

"Maybe that driver lives in this area, on this road," Lori suggested.

"Yeah, let's hope," Declan told her.

"Why, you think it's something bad?" Lori asked.

"I certainly don't think it's anything good," he replied.

They passed a speed limit sign. That was the cue that was written on the directions that Declan had, since there weren't many landmarks or anything else on this road. The speed limit sign was before a small hill, at which point they were to make a sharp right to make the turn. If they missed, they would cut through grass. That wasn't so bad, but the sharp right would lead them right onto the road.

They could see the trees to their right, obscured partially by the hill. At least they were there.

"Ok, let's see if he follows!" Declan sped up, swerving quickly to the right at the top of the hill…finding that it was a drop off, and the trees grew from the bottom of it up.

He slammed on the breaks, stopping them before they drove over the side. They all panted, catching their breaths, their hearts racing from that maneuver, from nearly going over the side.

"What were you doing?" Lori shouted at Declan, "You should have been more careful!"

"I followed the directions!" he defended, "There's nothing about a drop in here!"

"Of course not," Kyle said, "Because it was meant to kill us. The man following us is another part of that. One of us would be careful enough to be disturbed by it, and cause the fatal accident.

"We shouldn't have trusted that man. And that other car is still behind us. We have to do something, and fast."

There was nowhere to go. They could reverse, but the other car was there, blocking them in. There was the drop in front, and woods to the right that wove down into the drop, while the left had more barren land.

"What do we do?" Lori questioned.

Declan knew this was his time to take charge. Foss had trained him for such times. Before he could say anything, however, a gunshot went off. Another.

"Down!" Declan shouted, getting down as low as he could in his seat.

Another shot.

"Now what?" Lori shouted, her voice filled with fear.

"If we make a run for the woods we could lose him!" Declan realized, "Kyle?"

"I don't have any other ideas," Kyle admitted.

"We're going to try it," Declan said, "We need to open our doors, hide behind the car, and make a run for the woods. It's going to be dangerous, but it's better than sitting here, waiting to be shot."

"What if one of us doesn't make it?" Lori questioned him, "This isn't a game. This is real!"

"I know," Declan said, "Please, trust me."

He waited, then opened his door and got to the front as another shot went off. Lori found her resolve and did the same, evading the shot that came almost too late to hit her by the time she got around.

Kyle was last. He got out and ran, easily avoiding the single shot. They all put their backs to the front of the car, "Everyone ok?" Declan asked.

"I'm fine," Lori said.

"So am I," Kyle said, trying to glance back, but he couldn't see anyone.

Declan got down on his stomach and looked under the car, only seeing a single foot and part of that same leg due to where the assailant stood. He sat back up, "Only one, I think," he told them.

"Any ideas on how many bullets? Either of you?" Lori asked.

"No idea," Declan said.

"I don't know," Kyle agreed.

"Ok, then what? Should one of us be a decoy or distraction?" she questioned, "So the others can get to the woods?"

"I'll do it," Kyle said, before the debate if they should even began.

"No!" Declan almost shouted at him.

"I can go on top of the car. I'm faster than either of you. I can dodge him and jump off the ridge while you two run. It'll work," he asserted.

"I don't think so," Declan said.

"What other option do we have?" Kyle asked.

Declan picked up a decent sized rock, about the size of his palm. He came up into a standing crouch and then straightened up, throwing the rock over the car at where the man should be. He missed, but heard it hit the man's car.

"Go!" he urged softly, pushing them on and running beside them, putting himself in the middle of the two of them and the assailant, whom they didn't see.

What they did see was that their two back tires were shot out. But it didn't matter; they fled into the woods and on as the assailant no doubt pursued.

Cassidy saw them go and lowered his weapon, unloading two more bullets. Both missed. He watched them go for a bit longer, they were gone, out of sight. He started after them, only walking in pursuit. He was in no hurry; they couldn't get away.

* * *

><p>"Someone's shooting at us!" Lori shouted at them, "Come on! One of you have to have an idea!"<p>

"I don't want to have to take charge…but I will," Declan told them.

"You're going to take charge?" Lori questioned him.

"Declan, are you sure?" Kyle asked him.

"Do you think you could do better?" he asked Kyle, "I mean, you're smart and everything, but are you prepared for something like this?"

"Are you?" Kyle questioned him as they continued to run, dodging around trees, over logs and stones.

They stopped when Declan did, "Yeah. I've been trained for something like this."

"Trained?" Lori questioned him, "What are you talking about?"

He pulled his coat farther away, revealing the handgun that Foss had given him, "Tom Foss trained me," he told them, pulling the weapon, "I don't want to have to use this, but I will."

"How long have you had that?" Lori shouted at him in question.

"I carry it everywhere, except in your house," he told her.

"You had it at the college?" she demanded, "Do you know how stupid that was?"

"Lori, you have to be quiet," Kyle said, "Or we'll be found."

"Kyle's right," Declan said, "Ok, we have to be quiet. Then we have to sneak back around to the car. That's all we can do. I don't want to shoot whoever that is, and our best option is to just sneak around."

"Yeah, we shouldn't kill someone," Lori agreed.

Kyle didn't want anyone to die either, but didn't say anything as he too tried to think of a solution to their problem.

"Declan, Lori, I have an idea," Kyle said.

"What is it?" Declan questioned him.

"You two go ahead," Kyle told them, "I'll stay back here and stop that gunman."

"You're going to stop him?" Lori questioned him, "That's too dangerous!"

"This man is no doubt working for Latnok," Kyle said, "You two get away. I'm the target. I'll take care of it. I couldn't live with myself if one of you got hurt over this."

"You can't!" Lori protested.

"We're not going to let you do this. Foss wouldn't let me," Declan told him.

"I know that Foss wouldn't let me do this, but you're not him!" Kyle told Declan, "You're trying to be my protector like he is, right?"  
>"Yeah."<p>

"Just because you're my protector doesn't mean you have to do things like he does," Kyle said, "I know that leaving me to do this isn't protecting me, but please, listen to me and let me do this!"

"…on one condition."

"Name it."

"We don't tell Foss that I left you unprotected like this," Declan said.

"Agreed," Kyle said.

Declan took Lori's arm, "Come on, let's go."

"Good luck! Stay safe!" Lori called back to Kyle, clearly terrified for him from her tone of voice.

Kyle watched the two of them go, and then turned back to look down the way that had just come from. He closed his eyes, listening, focusing only on listening.

There were the footsteps. The man would be there soon; perhaps three minutes. Enough time.

* * *

><p>"Do you think Kyle will be ok?" Lori asked as they continue to run.<p>

"He's Kyle." That's all Declan could say.

"I know what you mean; he's always ok. It always seems to work, because that's who he is," Lori said, "But what do you think about this? Cassidy was trying to kill him before – I think – but this is so much different! He fought Cassidy in the house to protect us. This guy is just going to shoot him!"

"We have to have faith," Declan said as they started to follow a small stream. He stopped, looking down the stream, "I think if we go this way we can get back to truck," he said, checking to be sure his gun was still ready, that the safety as off. He was constantly doing it, just in case the assailant came around this way instead.

"Declan…how good are you?" Lori asked.

"I could probably get him if he came at us," Declan answered, bringing her along the path of the stream.

"Could you…kill someone?" she asked.

He paused, "No." He didn't need to think about it, he just knew.

"But if you're going to shoot him, then what?" she asked, "Are you going to aim for his leg or something?"

"No."

"Then where?"

"His chest. Dead on," he told her.

"But you said…"

"If you shoot someone, it's not like in the movies or TV," he said, "You can't shoot them in the hand to drop their weapon, or in the knee to take them down. If you're in that scenario, you shoot to kill, no matter what."

"Then do you think you'll be able to do it?" she asked.

He stopped and holstered his weapon. He turned around to face her, resting a hand on each of her arms, near her shoulders, "For your safety, I would kill the man," he told her.

"Declan…"

"I know, you have Mark, I have Jackie," he said.

She reached up, gripping his shoulders and kissing him. The two stood there, aware that at any moment the assailant could come upon them and fire on them, but neither cared in that moment. They were lost in each other, in what they had lost in moving on to other people.

This was what they had. This is what they could have again.

* * *

><p>Cassidy came down the small decline, looking around for the group of three, his gun in his right hand, the barrel down. He was moving slowly; they couldn't get away. Parked in, tires shot out, they were in basically a part of nowhere, so they couldn't get help.<p>

His EMP emitter that he now had with him had shorted out their GPS system, and had also probably disabled their cellphones. Disabled at the least, that was. It would be lucky if they had survived at all.

He was being thorough on this. Very thorough.

Before he realized anything, Kyle was dropping out of a tree behind him. He span around when he heard, lifting the weapon, but Kyle had an arm out, forcing the gun arm down, keeping the weapon pointed at the ground. He gripped Cassidy's arm, making Cassidy feel Kyle's strength.

Kyle lashed his other arm out, gripping Cassidy by the throat, "I'm going to get right to it," Kyle told him through gritted teeth, "What are you trying to do here, Cassidy?"

"Isn't it…obvious?" he gasped.

"You're trying to kill us. Why? Why them? Why not just me?" Kyle demanded.

"They were with you. No survivors, no witnesses."

"Witnesses? You were hiding yourself the entire time," Kyle told him, "I didn't even know it was you until now! I suspected, but didn't know."

"They could trace it back to that student, who could eventually tell you it was me. Or tell authorities, or someone," Cassidy hissed, "I was keeping myself out of…trouble."

"Then have Latnok bail you out," Kyle told him, "Don't involve the people I love!"

"Latnok wouldn't bail me out, don't you realize that?" he shouted, despite Kyle's grip on his throat.

"What do you mean?" Kyle demanded.

"Latnok sees you as the prize. I'm just here," Cassidy explained to him, "They wouldn't help me if I killed you. You're the prize; not me. They would let me rot in prison for killing you before they would lift a finger to help me."

"You're willing to risk that?" Kyle questioned him.

"To be my own man, yes."

"What do you mean by that?"

"To show Latnok that I am someone who can think and act on their own," he hissed in reply, "Right now I'm only a servant. I do as I'm told, slowly losing my own control. I used to be much more powerful, but ever since our…mishap at the Trager household, I've fallen out of favor with Latnok; even mum."

"That's your own fault," Kyle told him, "You went wild."

"I was following orders!" Cassidy shouted at him as best as he could. Kyle slackened the grip on the other man's throat, "I was told to go after you in your home! That those threats would work! But I knew better, Kyle. I knew you better than they did. I knew that you wouldn't react to those threats. I told them!

"They refused to listen. They had their own plans for you. Mum had her own plans for you. Their plans were never really my plans. I had control, but only over my own pawns; I was still being commanded by Latnok, forced to do as they told me, no matter how asinine it was. I would have preferred to avoid that confrontation in the Trager house."

"Then why did you do it?" Kyle demanded.

"I follow orders, no matter how much I dislike it," Cassidy stated.

"You said that Latnok would let you rot for killing me. So they don't want me dead. Wouldn't trying to kill me be disobeying the orders they gave you?" he demanded.

"I don't follow orders anymore. I have discipline troubles," Cassidy managed a small grin.

"Kyle!"

They both looked up the way that Cassidy had come. Declan was slowly approaching, gun raised and aimed at Cassidy, Lori behind.

"Declan, Lori!" Kyle called him, looking to Cassidy, then back, "I've got him! Don't worry!"

Declan lowered his weapon when he arrived, disarming Cassidy and sliding the other man's gun into his waistband, "You got this covered?"

"I do," Kyle said, pushing Cassidy away, "Go," Kyle told him.

"You're letting him go?" Declan shouted in outrage.

"What else can we do?" Kyle questioned, "I won't let him be killed. I don't know what we can do."

"Take him into our custody!" Lori said, "We can take him to the police!"

"What do we tell them?" Kyle questioned, "We've broken laws by just being with Declan as he went into the school with a gun. Cassidy has Latnok to help him."

"They don't have to know about my gun," Declan said.

"And if they find out?" Kyle questioned, "We aren't going to take that risk."

"Fine," Declan muttered.

Kyle looked to Cassidy, "Move your vehicle and leave so we can go," Kyle told him.

Cassidy shrugged, "Fine, as you say."

"Wait!" Lori shouted at him.

"What?" Cassidy questioned.

"Where are the Latnok students?" she demanded, "Where's Mark?" she shouted.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cassidy said simply, walking off to do as he had been told.

"We'll find them," Declan assured Lori.

"I have a plan," Kyle said.

"A plan?" Declan asked him.

"If I can hack into the Latnok servers, I can find them," he said, "I don't think they would move the students and have no information regarding it. I'm sure I can find something in their systems."

"But where are you going to go to get to their servers?" Lori questioned him.

"I don't know yet," he replied, "But Jessi and I can find a way."

"Jessi?" Lori asked him.

"She's the only one who can help me now," Kyle said.

* * *

><p>["I Will Follow You Into The Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie .comwatch?v=HYF8cUlbs3I]

In a few minutes they were driving again, heading back towards Seattle. Declan was talking, "I didn't want to have to be away from you, Kyle."

"What?" Kyle asked him.

"I was saying that it was all a coincidence because I didn't want to be away from you," Declan stated again, "I knew that either you would go, and would try to keep me out of it for some reason, or Lori and I would go, and be unable to convince you. And Lori would make it hard for me to turn down.

"That's why I didn't want to look into this at all. I'm sorry guys; but now I can be honest with the two of you. Foss would have looked down on me for taking my eyes off of you, even for a short time in the unknown like this, Kyle."

"I understand," Kyle told him, "I do understand Foss; I understand what you had to go through."

"You don't have to be Tom Foss," Lori told him.

"I know," he told her, "I'm working on my own way. I just don't have it all figured out yet."

She smirked, "You had better hurry and figure it out."

Kyle looked out the window as they kept going, thinking.

_We are no closer to finding answers about Mark and Jackie, along with all of the others, but at least now we know that Latnok is indeed doing something. Cassidy was lying when he said he didn't know anything. Latnok did something. Was this an attempt to get at me through the people I love?_

_ Whatever is happening, it can't be good. We have to find those students, and soon. Who knows what could be happening to them. What could happen if we waited. We need to find them as soon as we can, and hopefully strike a blow to Latnok at the same time._

_ Or strike a blow against Cassidy. At this point, it's getting a bit more difficult to discern. Cassidy is mostly working on his own, or so it sounds. Is he more dangerous than Latnok? Or is Latnok the true danger, as it always has been?_

* * *

><p>"We've warned you not to act against Kyle," a voice on the other end of Cassidy's phone said.<p>

"I didn't do anything," Cassidy stated again.

"We have camera footage of you at the college right when Kyle was," the voice replied, "You were paying someone off. You followed."

"How do you know this so quickly?" he demanded, "Are you watching me?"

"Your mother told us to," the voice replied.

"I'm sure you do everything for her," he muttered.

"She is our superior, as she is yours," the man stated, "Get used to following orders."

"I am the heir of Latnok!" he shouted, finally calling himself as he saw it, "I don't care about Kyle! He is no heir! I am! He may be seen as more important, but I'm the one who's here, aren't I? I'm the heir, the man with power! I don't have to keep following these foolish orders!"

There was a switch on the other end. The next speaker was Grace Kinsgly.

"Cassidy, you are nothing to Latnok. Kyle is the one we want. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

And then the line went dead. Cassidy dropped his phone and shouted, hitting his desk multiple times by pounding his fists. He shouted again and flipped it, shouting over and over again, cursing. Cursing Kyle, Latnok, even his own mother.

He was the important one. Not Kyle.

* * *

><p><em>I hope that this will be the end of Latnok. If I can locate any server of theirs, I should be able to track them to wherever they are hiding. We will have Latnok where we want them; we can win and finally bring them down.<em>

"If everything goes as planned, I can wipe out everything Latnok has," he told Declan and Lori, "It'll only be on one server, but with another malware, we can wipe out every backup they have, no matter where it is. Latnok won't be a problem anymore, if I can reach a server."

"But before you go crazy taking them down, you'll find Mark and the others right?" Lori questioned him.

"Of course," Kyle replied, "That's the first priority."

"I'll help plan it and come with you," Declan said.

"I don't want you to," he told Declan.

"Why? You can't keep me out of this!" Declan told him.

"I can, and have to," he said, "I can't put you in danger like this."

"I'm the one who can't let you go into the danger!" he argued.

"Jessi and I are going to do this alone," he said, "We'll be able to do it."

"Jessi? You're only taking her? Take me!" Declan urged.

"I'm sorry. But where we're going, it'll have to be Jessi and myself."

"Why?" Declan questioned him.

"Where are you going anyway?" Lori asked.

"I don't know where we're going," Kyle said, then to answer Declan, "I can't bring you along for one reason. We're going into the dark."

[Song ends]


	10. Unfinished Business

And here it is; the Season 4 finale. I know that some of the recent ones have been lacking, but I really wanted to make up for that with this entry. I feel I did. I tried to get everyone pertinent involved (character omissions will be dealt with next season, as to why they weren't here, unless otherwise mentioned in story). I even threw in some old stuff from the original run of the show (I remember fondly a preview from the episode where Kyle and Declan break into Foss's apartment, and the trailer that went with that episode; see if you can find that scene. If you can and name it right, you get the first two chapter names of Season 5 as a reward).

I really hope this makes up for the previous few chapters, and I really hope you all like this finale. This was one of my favorite, if not my favorite to write. Enjoy.

* * *

><p>10: Unfinished Business<p>

_There comes a time when one must act, rather than wait and prepare to perform a counter to another's action. Acting isn't always the best plan, but sometimes, it is the only plan._

_ For me, right now, all I can do is act. With the Latnok college students missing – and some of them having closer connections to me than anyone else would among the group – it has become personal. I don't know what Latnok is planning on doing with this, but right now, it is a time to act._

* * *

><p>"Jessi!"<p>

Jessi was going up the stairs when she heard Kyle call her name. She turned around. They hadn't really spoken much since after he woke up in the hospital. They had mostly avoided each other because of the morning of his hospitalization, as they were still trying to figure out what to do with the other.

Kyle had basically denied her, however, hurting her. She had tried to keep as much space as possible, but he was always puzzled by that fact. She was hurt, yes, but it was like she was going out of her way to avoid him.

Why? He didn't know, but that didn't matter right now. Right now, he needed her help.

"Kyle," she said, "What is it?"

He started up the stairs towards her, "I need your help. You're the only person right now who can help me."

"What sort of help do you need?" she asked, showing no real interest. He found that strange, but pressed on with his plea for help.

"Latnok has gone too far," he told her.

"They always have," she answered him, "What did they do this time?"

"They seem to have abducted everyone involved with Latnok at the college," he told her, "We need to save them; rescue them. And I need your help to find them."

"What do you need from e?" she questioned him.

"I need your help to find the Latnok facility; any facility. We need to hack their systems and find some sort of record of this, and then find them," Kyle told her, "You're the only person who can help me to find a facility and get into their systems."

She looked at him. What was that look in her eyes when he had asked her for help? Saying that she was the only person who could help him?

"I'm sorry," he told him, "I can't help."

"I need your help!" he asserted, "You are the only one!" he was affirming that fact for her.

"I'm sorry," she said, going upstairs, leaving him standing on the stairs, questioning her in his mind.

* * *

><p>"Nicole," Jessi closed her door as soon as she had said that.<p>

Nicole looked to her, "Yes Jessi?"

"I need advice," she said.

"You always come to me," Nicole said, "I know that you do."

"It's different this time," Jessi said, crossing the bedroom to Nicole, who was going through something in her dresser, "I…I need more important advice. It's about Kyle."

"Did you tell him?" she questioned Jessi in a low tone of voice, "Did you give him any reason to think-"

Jessi cut her off, "No! I didn't. He wants me to help him."

"Help with what?" Nicole asked.

"It seems that Latnok abducted college students, the students who worked for them. Including Mark, as you should figure," Jessi told her.

"Mark…?" Nicole shook her head, "I wonder if Lori knows…"

"I don't know," Jessi said, being rather callous, "Look, Kyle plans on finding a Latnok base, or something, and getting into their computer systems to find a database so he can search for them. He wants me to help him."

"And are you going to?" Nicole asked her.

"I think I have to," she replied, "I'm the only one, but…I wouldn't feel right in helping him, not after what we had to do to save him. We had to betray him. I had to betray him."

"I betrayed him as well," Nicole assured Jessi, trying to make her feel at least a bit better.

"No. Not like I did. I stole the information from him; not you."

"Jessi, I know that it's hard on you. It haunts me as well. But we can't let that control us," Nicole said, "I've seen you trying to avoid Kyle as much as you could. You can't let that dictate how you live your life! It hurts, having to have done that, but you don't see it controlling my life, my interactions with Kyle."

"You're his mother, I'm no one to him," Jessi said.

Nicole laid a motherly hand on Jessi's shoulder, "Jessi...you could very well be the only person in this world for Kyle. As much as we love him as his family, you're the only one who can truly be called anything close."

"But he loves you," Jessi said.

"I know he loves us as family, but you and he are almost the same. You have a bond that runs deeper than love. Trust me," Nicole said.

"What do you think of Amanda then?" Jessi asked sourly.

"Kyle has that same love for her that he does for us, but like I said, the bond and love are much different. I believe that the bond is stronger," Nicole said, "You should pursue Kyle. I know, I know, you can't because of how you feel, but after everything, I really do think you are the one for him.

"I've seen you in this pain over having to help him like you have. I trust that you're the woman for him. I know that it would be hard for anyone, but you really are different than you would have been were it anyone else, Jessi. You really care about him differently than you care about anyone else."

"Do you think that?" Jessi asked her softly.

"I do," Nicole assured her, "You should help Kyle. Maybe by doing that you'll come farther out of this depression, as it were, and find a way to be closer to him."

"Thank you," Jessi said, "I'll try to not let it control me."

"I hope you succeed," Nicole told her, letting her leave the room.

* * *

><p>"I'm glad you're willing to help me," Kyle told Jessi as she met him in his room.<p>

"Yeah, so, let's get to it. What do we need to do?" she asked him.

"I've been thinking, trying to figure out how to get the information on where we can find a Latnok facility, and I finally figured it out. I think."

"How?" she asked him.

"We do something we had to do one before. When they had Amanda," he replied, "We need to get Cassidy's cell. If we can, we can probably find a log of calls, and find one to or from Grace Kingsly. If we can find the data on a call, we can find where it was done from with data from the company, and go there.

"Likewise, we could try to find a recorded or saved call and listen to the background. This is what I meant by we pull the same trick. We could listen to anything in the background and try to narrow it done. However, doing that is a lot harder, as we would have to listen for things that might not be there, or might be too common."

"Then our best bet is to get his phone logs and find his mother's number. Then we find where she's been making calls from," Jessi commented.

"But to be safe, we need to work from both ends," he replied, "Then we have everything covered, and we should have their location in no time."

"Ok, how do we do this, then?" she asked him.

"I need your help to break into his office," he told her, "We've done it before; we can probably do it again."

"But what if he carries his phone instead of leaving it?" she put in as a very good point.

"We might have to rob him, then," Kyle said, "I figured you wouldn't have any problems with that."

"None," she smiled, "Now, the other end?"

Kyle opened his bedroom door; "We need you!" he called out.

In a few moments Lori and Josh were coming into the room, "We're here to help," Lori said.

"What do you need us to do? Something moderately dangerous, I hope," Josh said.

"No," Kyle said, "We just need you to get the phone company to give us some information."

"Which one?" Jessi asked Kyle, as he hadn't told her. She was suspecting he didn't know.

"That's it?" Josh complained, "Come on! Give us something important!"

"It is important," Kyle said, looking specifically to Lori, "If we get the information, we're one step closer to finding Mark and everyone else."

Lori hit Josh in the back, "Come on, like he said, this is important to the mission," Lori told him.

"Did you just call it a mission?" Josh almost laughed at that, but he smiled, "You make it sound cooler than it really is. Whatever; let's do it."

"My question still stands," Jessi told Kyle.

"I do have the information," Kyle said, showing his computer, "I have the website up for the specific company as well as his number already input. You need a password, but there's also a number listed. You can call it in and try to talk your way past giving the password. That's your best bet."

"Can't one of you just hack that website?" Josh questioned, "What do you need us for? I mean, I imagine you guys have something important to do, but still, won't it take all of five minutes?"

"He raises a good point," Jessi told Kyle.

"No," Kyle said, "Granted, it is breaking the law to lie and get that information, but I'd rather do that than hack the database. If we somehow get caught, it would be very bad, I imagine, in this day and age with calls being monitored and stuff. And I wouldn't want to do that illegal action."

"I'd do it, and wouldn't be found," Jessi said, confident enough in herself for good reason.

"No," Kyle said, "I'm sorry, Jessi."

"Fine," she said, putting up no verbal fight, because she felt bad for what she had done in the hospital.

Kyle looked curiously at her for not putting up a fight, as he had expected of her. He ignored it for now, "Ok, you two should start. Jessi and I are going after Cassidy to get his phone itself."

"Just the two of you?" Lori asked, "What about Declan?"

"I'm leaving him out of this," Kyle said, "I know he wants to help. I know he would do anything to help us, but…I left him out. He should be with Foss, training some more. And this…I just feel like this is too big for him."

"Wait, what about him and Foss?" Josh questioned.

"He trained with Foss," Lori gave him the abbreviated version, "But come on! You let us do work, but not him?"

"This work is safe," Kyle said, "He wouldn't be happy doing it."

"You're right about that," Lori smiled, "Fine. Leave him out. I won't call him."

"Thanks," Kyle said, turning to Jessi, "Well, let's go and get Cassidy's phone."

* * *

><p>"How do you want to do this?" Jessi asked him as they stood behind two trees, watching Cassidy going for a walk, or walking somewhere. They had gotten to the college by taxi, but he had been leaving at the time, so they had decided to follow and wait for their moment.<p>

"I don't know," Kyle answered. He saw some people he recognized from the college, from their questioning of everyone, "I have an idea," he said, making sure that he wasn't being watched by Cassidy, or would be noticed, he ran to those people and started to talk to them.

When they started to walk away, Jessi realized that whatever Kyle had done wasn't working. She approached them, "Hey! I'll pay you ten dollars to go and run into that guy!" she pointed to Cassidy, making sure to keep her voice down enough so that nobody else nearby would hear, let alone Cassidy.

"Money first," one of them said.

She handed him the ten dollar bill, "Go do it," she said.

He ran off, going off another street so he could get in front of Cassidy without running at him from behind to get in front. She headed back to Kyle, who produced a similar phone.

"I remember what his phone looked like," Kyle said.

"You sure he hasn't changed it?" she asked him.

"Sure enough," he replied, waiting and watching. They were soon forced to move in pursuit, but slowly at first, until they saw the student running. Then Kyle ran towards a building on the right, getting ready to get inside, it looked like. Cassidy looked back at the sound of running, but Kyle was already inside, so Cassidy only saw the door closing.

His focus was taken away from the man in front. When the student crashed into him, they both went down. Kyle ran out while the student tried to help him up. Kyle immediately noticed that the phone hadn't fallen out of Cassidy's pocket, unfortunately, and they knew it wasn't at his office, as they checked before pursuing.

As he was coming back up, Kyle started to quickly look at Cassidy, focusing his senses on that man alone. He began to listen, listening for the possible low sound of the insides of the phone. Then he closed his eyes and opened them again, trying to get a reading on Cassidy's heat; performing a sort of heat sensing vision this time. He found the phone, only because it was a different temperature than the rest of Cassidy's body, and the shape stood out.

Kyle moved closer as the student and Cassidy argued as Cassidy was getting up. Going as fast as he could, as carefully as he could, Kyle darted his fingers into the pocket, procuring the phone, and slipped the other one in, before backing up a quick step and heading back towards the building he had just come from by the time Cassidy turned, having heard something like a footstep next to him.

But Kyle had the phone, and Cassidy didn't know anything.

* * *

><p>"This isn't working," Lori hung up again.<p>

"Ok, tell the person on the other end that you're his girlfriend," Josh said.

"What?" she shouted at him.

"Look, it's not like they know who you are," Josh commented.

"I feel sick just thinking about a lie like that," she told him.

"Look, I want to help, so I'm helping."

"I know, I need to help too. But how does that get us any closer?" she questioned him.

"Tell the person on the other end that you think he's cheating and want to prove it so you can take everything from the apartment before he gets back," Josh stated.

She looked at him or a few moments, "Where did you come up with a lie like that?" she questioned him.

"When Andy and I can actually talk, and we don't have anything else to talk about…we go off on different topics," he said.

"What was this one, then?" she asked, "Assuming you move in together and she finds out you cheated?"

"Yes, actually," he told her, "But whatever, just call."

Once more she called. Fortunately she had gotten different people each time she had called, making this a bit easier. She put her hand over the mouthpiece, "A man."

"Hang up and redial," he told her, "You need a woman."

She did just that, redialing the phone, then nodded, "Hello, I need to get the private information off of this number," she read Cassidy's number off the screen, though could probably have memorized it by now, she felt better reading it off just to be certain.

"A woman?" Josh whispered, she nodded.

"No, I don't have the password," Lori said, "I know, I know I need that to get at any personal data, but look, bear with me. I want to know if he's a cheating bastard so I know to take everything from the apartment before he comes home. I swear I've seen him with my former best friend, the slut. I need to make sure before I make a big mistake and accept the ring I found in his sock drawer."

She waited for a few moments, "Thank you so much. Yes; here's my email," she gave an email address to the woman on the other end, "Thank you so much. And yes, I will be sure to take the ring and throw it away if it turns out he is cheating."

She hung up, "Got it."

"You know, it's a good thing she didn't just have you ask if a specific number was on there, good thing she sent them instead," Josh pointed out.

"I know, but I think she figured it would be multiple numbers, like a cell or a landline," Lori said, sitting at the computer, "She was probably a little older than me, understood immediately. It worked well." She stopped typing and turned to him, "Thanks for that advice."

He shrugged, "You owe me."

"Kyle owes you," she made sure he knew that distinction.

He didn't have anything to say for a few minutes as she got into her mail and got to the lists, "No, he doesn't owe me anything. I owe him so much more than this."

"What are you talking about?" she asked him, turning to look at him.

"He helped Andy's cancer," he said quietly, "Before she left, he did…something. I could never repay him for that."

"I think this is a good start," Lori told him.

"Maybe…"

"Come on, let's start looking through this," Lori offered.

"Any idea what we're looking for?" he asked.

"Well, this number was called a lot," she said, pointing at one, "We have access to the call location, too, from both ends. That was nice of her to give us."

Josh pointed to another number, "This one, too."

"What?"

"Look. This number was also called a lot," he commented.

She clicked on one number, bringing up data, since it was from the same carrier, "Kinsgly, Grace. My number is the one we need," she clicked on the other one, but nothing came up, "Different carrier, it looks like."

"I wonder who that could be," Josh said, looking at the times, "His calls to this other number last as long as the ones to his mother."

"Some are longer," Lori pointed out, "Whoever that is…"

"What?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said, "I guess it's not that strange, but the fact that his conversations with his mother range from a minute and a half to up to ten, fifteen minutes, and these other ones are almost always at least twenty…kind of strange."

"What, don't picture him as a momma's boy?" Josh asked.

"No…I don't know," Lori said, "Anyway, let's call Kyle."

* * *

><p>"You got it? That's great," Kyle said, "We got his phone itself. We're coming back to find the location of the facility he calls Grace at."<p>

"I'm surprised they got it," Jessi admitted.

Kyle held a finger up, "What? It says right on the record where the calls were done at?" He waited a little bit, "Got the coordinates," he said, "We're heading there now. First, go to the other internet browser I have up and keep refreshing; that's the phone I slipped Cassidy. Just be sure he's not coming our way when we go there. Thanks."

"So you have the coordinates?" Jessi asked.

He nodded, "We have to go there now. We need to get this done right away."

"Agreed," Jessi said.

Kyle hailed a taxi and the two went off.

* * *

><p>The supposed Latnok facility turned out to be a five story office building. Kyle and Jessi got off a block away and moved that way on foot, wary of cameras, which there were many of. They managed to avoid them with some quick uses of their powers and reached the door, looking inside the main lobby.<p>

"One man at the desk, five cameras in sight," Jessi commented.

"None on us, at least," Kyle replied, pulling his head away. They both stood just to the side of the glass doors, "Ok, any ideas?"

"We could make a distraction and get him away from his post, then check his computer."

"I don't know if his computer would be set up to the main database," Kyle said.

"I still like my plan," she said, "If nothing more, we get him away for a moment, get the blueprints from his computer, and find a database," she said.

"Ok, let's do that," Kyle agreed, "Any ideas on how to get him away?"

She poked her head back out, looking again, smiling, "Yeah, I've got a plan," she said, closing her eyes and focusing. She opened them again, looking at the two elevators in sight. They both came down to the lobby at the same time, both of them opening, then closing, then opening again, as if malfunctioning.

The man at the front desk heard them and got up, heading over to look. Jessi opened the doors quietly, letting them both slip inside. She focused, hitting all of the cameras, making them all record nothing but static until they could get to a blind spot. Once behind the desk, Kyle began to focus his attention on the only camera that could see them, while Jessi moved behind the man and grabbed him, putting her hand around his mouth and another around his chest, keeping him pinned with her strength. She managed to get him into a janitor's closet and lock him inside. He wasn't very noisy, at least.

"Camera is taken care of," Kyle said, keeping his focus constantly up, "Can you?"

She nodded, working the computer from the desk, "Here's blueprints."

He pointed to the third floor, "Computer room; that's our goal."

The two ran for the elevators and got inside, heading up for the third floor. They both waited in silence, sure of no recording devices inside. When it opened, they both got to the sides, glancing out, making sure nobody watched. They got out and moved down the hall, knocking out the five cameras they came across in total.

They reached the start of a hall that led to the computer room, and there were cubicles around on all sides. They listened, hearing nothing, and moved towards the computer room, still working on the cameras.

Jessi put her hand to the knob and started to shake. It opened easily.

"Nice trick," he commented.

"I can teach you," she said.

They stepped inside the white room. Computers were on all sides, large towers, wires, cameras all around, watching. There was one watching the door, but they had expected it and rendered it useless as they entered.

"Take over," Kyle said, making Jessi keep that camera down while he reached out as well.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Every other camera."

"Let me," she told him.

"No; we need to be sure we don't damage the towers," he said, "I have more finite control."

"You doubt me?" she questioned him.

"No," he said, "I just want to be absolutely certain."

She had to respect that as he reached out, "Got it," he muttered, clearly under stress or pain at this point.

They moved through the room until Kyle pointed to a spot, "There," he said, rushing there with Jessi, getting to the single blind spot he could locate. They both released their control as they sat, regaining their strength.

"Now what?" she asked.

"We keep going," he said, "You can keep it up while I get the information copied, right?"

"Of course. Leave it to me," she said.

When they got up, she reached out to knock the cameras out as they moved. When they got to the end of the towers, Kyle pulled out some cords and what looked like an external hard drive. He plugged it all in and waited as he copied the data to his device.

"You sure it's big enough?" she asked.

"I'm sure," he said, "I modified this just for this job."

"Let's hope you're right," Jessi said.

"Got it," he said, pocketing it and reaching out to take control from Jessi, to give her some time to rest, "Let's go."

As they got outside the room, Kyle used a bit of his recovering strength to force the door locked again. For some reason this door only had a normal deadbolt lock, though upon closer examination, this was a new door.

As they started back towards the elevators, they heard voices. They looked down the left path, seeing two people approaching, talking about the towers.

Keeping silent, Jessi reached out, knocking over a glass of water that she had seen on a tray behind the two men. They looked back as Kyle and Jessi ran past as quietly as possible, but not going any farther, knowing that they couldn't get any farther, as they heard the people coming again.

They each pressed themselves up against the walls of a cubicle, on either side of the hallway as they heard the people enter the hall and move away from them, towards the computer room.

They could hear the two speaking of maintenance and the like as they unlocked it and walked inside. When the door closed, Kyle and Jessi went towards the elevators again.

"Can they find out anything is wrong?" Jessi asked.

He shook his head, "No trace," he commented.

"What do you want to do with the guy in the closet?" she asked him.

"I don't know," he said as they got into an elevator, "We'll figure something out."

As they went down, they walked into the lobby, already hitting the cameras. When they moved away from the elevators, they saw Cassidy standing there, "Nice to see you two," he commented across the room.

"Jessi, drop it," Kyle said, relaxing.

She too dropped her control over the cameras. Cassidy already saw them, what did the cameras matter?

"I'll get him out in a bit," Cassidy pointed over his shoulder with a thumb towards the closet, "Good work; I assume you got what you came for."

"We should have known you were coming," Kyle stated, actually meaning that they should have been alerted.

"I ditched that phone," Cassidy said, "Come on, do you think I'm a fool?" He held his hand out, "Phone."

Kyle reached for it in his pocket, pulling it out, looking at it. He genuinely looked like he was going to give it back.

Jessi snatched it from his hand and crushed it, "I don't know why we let the cameras see us, Kyle. After all, we can deal with this guy."

"You're going to kill me?" Cassidy questioned, smiling broadly, "Oh, fun! Nate!"

Nate came out from another doorway, another closet, the electrical weapon in hand, "I get to do something? Glad you brought me along."

"No, you don't get to do anything," Cassidy told him.

"Why call then?" he questioning angrily.

"I want you to be here for something," Cassidy said, "Just in case." He pointed to Jessi, "Kyle, when you were in the hospital, guess what happened."

"What are you talking about?" he questioned Cassidy, glancing to Jessi.

"Cassidy!" Jessi shouted at him.

"She sold you out. So did your mum," Cassidy stated simply, "They stole the formula from your head and gave it to me so I would save your life." Cassidy's smug smile came to him, "I have the clones, Kyle. I don't care that you have that information; I really don't. It's not important to me. But the clones are."

"I don't believe you!" Kyle shouted at him, looking to Jessi, "Jessi and Nicole could never do that!"

"Read me; am I lying?" Cassidy questioned, "Better yet, ask and read Jessi!"

He turned to Jessi, "Is he telling the truth?" Kyle questioned her.

"Kyle…"

"Is he lying?" Kyle shouted.

"No!" she shouted at him, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Jessi told him, "He…he made me get it for him, from your head, or you would have died. Nicole helped. We…we agreed to do it to save you."

"Is that why you avoided me?" he questioned, getting a weak nod of the head in return.

"Kyle, brother, I win," Cassidy told him.

"You don't win!" Kyle shouted at him.

"Oh, but I have," he answered, "Nate, stand down. I don't need you."

"Fine," Nate muttered, clearly very displeased with having to accompany Cassidy to the action, and then seeing it be avoided.

Cassidy held up a hand, "Later, brother." He turned his back to Kyle and headed out with Nate close behind. Unlike Cassidy, Nate kept looking back.

"Kyle…"

"Save it," he told Jessi, "I'm not someone who holds a grudge, who stays angry, but…you and Nicole should have told me."

"How could we tell you?" she asked him, "We couldn't!"

"I see how you would think that," he said, walking towards the exit, "I need to look into this data. The clone location has to be in here somewhere. That's now my first priority, and then the Latnok students."

"Let me help!" she pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but at this point, it's personal."

"Forget about what I did!" she pleaded him, "Let me help you!"

"It's not about what you did," he told her, "It's all about Cassidy now."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought I walled it all off, kept it all blocked away. I didn't. I need to stop fooling myself. I want to harm Cassidy. I want revenge for what he attempted to do. He thought to strike a blow by making you and Nicole turn against me; or make me turn against you when the truth came out. Now I'm going after him personally, to make him pay for all of this."

Jessi ran after him, "Kyle…"

"I'm sorry, but this is my job alone now. I'm going home to look at the data, then I'm going. Don't follow," he said, heading outside and hailing another taxi. Jessi climbed in with him as they headed to the Trager house.

* * *

><p>"We got it," Josh told Kyle, "How'd we do? Better than expected, right?"<p>

He walked past Josh and Lori without saying anything, "Good job," he told them, his back to them, holding the door open with one hand, closing it behind him.

"That was rude," Josh commented.

"Something must have happened," Lori told him, grabbing his arm, "Come on; let's just leave him be."

As the two went into the kitchen, they saw Jessi coming in, "Josh, Lori…is Kyle here?"

"He's in his room," Lori said.

"Did you do something?" Josh demanded of her.

"…I hurt him," she said, "I…"

"What did you do?" Lori demanded, losing it at this point, "We thought you were different! How could you do anything to hurt him?"

Nicole and Stephen were coming down, "What are you guys yelling about?" Stephen questioned them.

Jessi turned to Nicole, "Kyle knows," she said.

"He knows…?" Nicole took it in slowly, "That…how's he doing?"

"He knows what?" Stephen questioned, "What are you two talking about?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," Josh commented.

"Let me tell it," Nicole told Jessi, walking to stand between everyone, "I…I didn't want anyone to have to know about this, I didn't want any of you to worry. In the hospital, when Kyle was…in serious condition, Michael Cassidy offered to help."

"Cassidy offered to help Kyle?" Josh questioned, "What? Why would he do that?"

"He wanted something in return," Nicole said.

"What was it?" Stephen asked her.

"Information from Kyle's head," Jessi commented, "I stole it from his head while he was under, and gave it to Cassidy."

"Cassidy saved Kyle's life after that," Nicole finished for Jessi, "It was all we could do. Kyle would have died otherwise."

"You gave him something from Kyle's head?" Lori shouted at Jessi, "How could you do that? He's too dangerous! You have Kyle and Declan have been trying to stop him and Latnok for so long, yet you did this? You helped your enemy?"

"It was either help him, or let Kyle die!" Jessi shouted at Lori, "What else could we do?" she was breaking down, almost in tears. It was hard on her to have done that, it was hard on her to relive it, and also defend herself from Kyle's family; the people who loved him more than she did.

"Lori, stop," Nicole told her daughter, "The two of us did what we had to do."

Stephen laid a hand on his wife's shoulder, "You could have told all of us. We would have all agreed."

"No!" Josh shouted, "Lori's right; we couldn't! I'm with Lori; there's no way we could have done this!"

"Even if Kyle would have died otherwise?" Jessi questioned through tears streaming down her face, "We couldn't have lived with ourselves!"

"Jessi is right," Nicole said, putting her arm around Jessi, "Josh, Lori, please leave us for a bit."

The two looked to each other and left them, clearly unable to accept this situation. It had happened, and there was no alternative, but they couldn't deal with it now.

"It'll be ok, Jessi," Nicole told her, "Don't worry."

"No…it won't be," Jessi muttered, "Not at this point, it can't be."

* * *

><p>["I Saw" by Matt Nathanson .comwatch?v=1_f1-dicuRE]

_I had worked it out. I had figured out where to go to find the missing students, but they would have to wait, because of a phone call._

_ "Kyle, I want to settle things. Come to the location I texted you on my phone; you still have it, right?"_

_ So I followed where he told me to go. I was like a moth into a flame, but what choice did I have? I had to go. I had to stop this experiment again. This time I didn't have a way to stop the growing process; I didn't have a way to commit a small scale genocide, but I had to meet Cassidy. I would find a way to stop this experiment again, no matter what._

Kyle walked among the rows of tanks where the clones were developing, looking at them as he walked. The warehouse that was being used was empty, filled with only the rows and rows of shelves that held the tanks in which the babies were receiving gestation in.

"Cassidy!" Kyle shouted, "I'm here!"

Kyle closed his eyes, feeling the heartbeats of the countless babies around him. They were genuine; this was real. This sick sight was real.

"Kyle, welcome," Cassidy said, walking out from behind a row a bit farther down, hands in his pockets, "Like the place?"

"You're a monster for doing this," Kyle told him.

"I'm not the one who killed them all last time," Cassidy stated.

Kyle's expression darkened, twisting into rage and anger at what Cassidy said. He approached Cassidy, who remained wary, but confident looking.

"You got me last time, and the time before that at the Trager house, but this time is different," Cassidy stated simply.

"How so?" Kyle questioned.

Cassidy had a small grin on his face, "Because this time, your family betrayed you with my revelation. This time, I'm ready. This time, your anger isn't going to be released again. You had it all last time, and you couldn't kill me. You've had nothing but time to think about that, haven't you? You won't kill me; you'll try to control yourself. I have you this time."

"No, Cassidy," Kyle stated, "It doesn't work that way."

"We'll see," Cassidy said, slowly walking closer, pulling his hands out of his pockets and making them into fists. Kyle did the same, though reluctantly, making fists as well.

Cassidy started to run. He shouted and threw a punch, but Kyle blocked it with his forearm and punched him back, in the chest, driving Cassidy a few steps back. Kyle punched him again, knocking him farther back.

_The Tragers wouldn't approve of this, but it's all I can do. I died on the inside the first time Cassidy and I fought, and I never recovered. The last time wasn't a fight, but my stopping him from killing. I knew what I was doing, and nothing stopped me._

He saw flashes of his family coming before his eyes.

_Josh. Lori. Stephen. Nicole. Declan. Jessi. …Amanda._

He saw the people he loved. He got hit in the face by Cassidy's punch, stumbling and then taking another two in the chest from Cassidy, going down.

_I can't fight back. Not because of all of you._

Cassidy started to kick him while he was down, shouting, lost in a grip of rage as he beat on Kyle, seeing blood.

_But I must fight back for my own sake. I must fight so that I can stop him; stop the man who threatens all of you._

Kyle rose between kicks and punched him once, sending all of his strength into one blow, sending Cassidy falling into a row of gestational tanks, but he didn't topple them. He slumped down. Kyle grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.

"Now what?" Blood ran down Cassidy's chin as he questioned Kyle, his eyes burning with hate, with the passion and desire to keep going, "Finish me!"

"No."

_I won. I could have ended it there; put a stop to Cassidy's threat, but I already resolved that. I already decided that I would never think of killing him again. All I needed now was someone to save me, to pull me out of this situation, so that I could have it resolved without having to cross that line._

_ But that wasn't going to happen. Not the way I wanted it to, anyway._

Nate came out from behind another row of tanks, lifting his electrical device that he so favored. He aimed it at Kyle and fired one bolt. Kyle's necklace – Adam's Latnok ring – conducted it well, bringing Kyle to his knees, forcing him to release Cassidy, who never felt a thing, thanks to the ring absorbing it all, and then directing it into Kyle's chest.

"Good work, Nate," Cassidy said, wiping his blood away with the back of his hand.

"I finally get to do something," Nate said, walking towards and looking down at Kyle, smiling viciously, "I want more."

"You're not the one who gets to kill him," Cassidy said, reaching down to his shoe and pulling out a knife that he had tucked away, since wearing a gun would have been dangerous in the fight he knew they would have. He flicked the blade open on the switchblade, "I get to kill him."

Kyle could barely see. He managed to get a look at the knife as Cassidy crouched down to draw it. He could hear Cassidy say one final thing before he lost consciousness.

"Goodbye, brother."

_But…my…my family…_

[Song ends]


End file.
